Unexpected Events
by Golden Immortality
Summary: *Written by: The Equestrian Writer* Heartand/Phantom Stallion crossover. Ty/Amy and Sake. Read and Review
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

"Ladies and Gentlemen, it's been emotional,"

The power had been cut off and now they were all sitting in a darken room staring at the ring leader as he hovered his finger over the button on the detonator. The detonator that would access the explosives and blow this hotel lobby sky high. He stared gruesomely at the whole room, taking in each of the terrified expressions of his hostages.

Amy Fleming was one of them. She sat still, not moving. She couldn't. It seemed liked she was frozen in that one moment just waiting for the detonator to be pressed. Her heart was thumping so hard in her chest, she thought it would burst. She let out the breath she was holding and looked around the room until she found her fiancé. He looked back at her, his emerald eyes telling her just how much he loved her.

Samantha Forster sat across the room from her with the same look of terror on her face that mirrored hers. She gripped her own fiancé's hand so hard he was most likely wincing from the intensity of it. He looked down at her and pulled her closer to him. That in itself, made her a whole lot calmer. Unconsciously, her hand moved to her stomach as she lay her head on his shoulder.

Matt Trewin was kneeling in front of the couch stroking his wife's black curls, trying not to focus on what was going on around him. His only priority was getting his wife out here in time. She was still unconscious and Matt wasn't sure how much longer she had. He took a deep breath, the first chance he got, he would pick her up and run for the exit.

Jennifer Slocum sat by herself, her hands on her rounded belly, protectively. She looked around at the gunmen and knew he was among them, but which one. They all looked the same in the dark and their black coveralls and ski masks didn't help at all. She needed to tell him the truth before it was impossible. He needed know.

Suddenly, a figure ran forward and punched the ring leader in the stomach. The detonator dropped from his hand as the two began to fight. Everybody looked on with the same fearful expression. One of the gunmen picked up the silver equinox briefcase and another one picked up the detonator.

---

"Hit them with tear gas, go on my command," the police commissioner called out. The tear glass pierced the darken glass doors, setting off the alarm. Screams were soon heard from the inside.

---

The ring leader punched the guy in the face and quickly yelled to one of his men, "Push the button now!" Before he continued on with the fight.

---

"They're gonna know we're coming," a police officer said to another as they got ready to storm the building.

"At least they won't be able to see us," the other police officer replied.

Another scream was heard from inside and that was all Wyatt Forster could take. "You heard that, do something!" he yelled at the police commissioner.

"We got to get them out of there!" the first police officer yelled, his gun poised.

The police commissioner looked at the lobby and then back to the awaiting officers. "Go. GO!" he called to them.

The SWAT team moved in, armed with guns, masks, and shields. They approached the doors slowly in one line. Everyone else looked on in terrified silence.

---

The lobby was now filled with thick smoke that made it impossible to see anything. The outlines of figures were the only thing that anybody could make out. Jake with his arms securely around his fiancee moved her behind the lobby desk for safety. Matt gathered Soraya in his arms and made his way through the smoke toward the doors. Jen looked around her frantically, unable to move from her spot where she sat.

---

Wyatt Forster ran forward, Brynna Forster right behind him, trying to see what was going on inside.

---

Amy was pushed gently to the floor in front of the couch, by who, she didn't know. Whoever it was, they stayed behind her, they're arms around her body.

Matt finally found the door and ran through it. "I need some help here!" he yelled out. A paramedic ran up to him and told him to put her down. He lied her down on the ground, the blanket still tightly wrapped around her.

Jen still sat where she was trying to decide where she should run to. Suddenly, a figure ran up to her and gently scooped her up. He then, ran with her to the safest place he knew.

Wyatt gave a little growl under his breath once he saw that the person came out wasn't his daughter. "Samantha," he mumbled and then started to run towards the lobby, intending on finding his daughter and bringing her out himself. But before he could make it there however, the lobby exploded. He was pitched backwards onto the ground and a fiery white light engulfed everything.

**If you are curious to know what will happen next, and you know you are, then just hit that little blue button that says Review. It's that simple. **


	2. Chapter 1

**A/N:** This chapter is a little confusing. The first part is just telling you about what the characters are up to and the second part takes place thirteen hours before the explosion. Hopefully that will clear up any confusion in this chapter. Enjoy.

**Chapter One**

The blue roan mustang whinnied and reared up. His heavy hooves slammed down onto the ground and he galloped around the round pen. He gave another trumpeting whinny, turned on his haunches and started galloping the other way. Then, he came to the center of the corral and stopped. His ears were pricked forward and his nostrils were flaring. He stood his ground and watched the human on the other side of the fence.

Suddenly, as if he was offended somehow, the mustang neighed a challenge and picked up his reckless gallop again, this time right toward the fence. At the very last second, the mustang turned slightly and slammed his whole weight into the fence. The boards shook from the impact of his weight, but kept their places in the ground.

Jake Ely didn't even blink. The two stared at each other for the longest time. Until, the blue roan, as if disgusted, snorted and trotted to the far end of the corral.

Samantha Forster stood on the porch of the ranch house watching the whole scene unfold. She had been holding her breath the whole time and let it out slowly once the mustang had trotted confidently away. Sam stepped off the porch and walked over to her fiancé. She had gotten engaged to her long-time boyfriend, Jake Ely, three months ago and still neither one of them had made any moves on planning a wedding or at least setting a date.

"Doesn't act like a gelding much, does he?" Sam asked teasingly as she approached.

Jake turned at the sound of her voice. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say he was fresh off the range," he told her.

Sam nodded, "That's basically what he was for the past two years," she paused. "His owners just left him in a field all day and dropped in on him every once in a while." She shook her head disgustingly. They watched the mustang gelding in silence for a few minutes until Sam remembered the reason she came out here.

"Hey, guess what?" Jake just looked over at her. "Well, I'll tell you. You know that place called Heartland, in Virginia, right?" Jake nodded. "I called and told them the problems we've been having and they've agreed to fly out and help us. Isn't that great?"

"With what?" Jake asked.

"With Shady," Sam answered taken aback. "I described him to the girl, Amy, and she said she'll..."

"You agreed to have some stranger train our horse?" Jake questioned her, his brown mustang eyes boring into hers.

"Well, basically yeah," Sam answered, a little confused. She had no idea where he was going with this.

"So, you're trusting a complete stranger with our horse instead of the man you're supposed to be marrying. Is that right?" Anger and hurt were evident in his voice.

"I didn't mean it that way, I was thinking about the horse," Sam said defensively, her voice had risen.

Jake didn't say anything, instead he looked off to the ten-acre pasture where most of the horses were grazing at the far end.

"Jake, listen to me," Sam pleaded, grabbing his arm and trying to turn him around. She failed miserably. "It has been over two weeks and we still can't even get near him. Why is it so hard for you to admit you need help?"

At that, Jake spun around. Her hand fell to her side as she braced for his attack. It looked like he was going to say something, yell at her, but then it seemed like he stopped himself.

"Whatever," he mumbled and turned away. Jake stalked off to where Witch, his black Quarter horse mare, was tied. He swung up into the saddle and wheeled the mare around into a lope across the Riverbend bridge.

- - -

The dark bay Quarter horse gelding followed his handler around the schooling ring with his muscle on his shoulder. He stopped, turned to face the gelding and rubbed in between his eyes.

Amy Fleming smiled at the scene. This was one of those moments that made it all worth it. Seeing horse and human working together like they were the only ones in the world. Amy hurried over to the ring and her boyfriend.

"Sorry about that," Amy apologized.

"That's okay," Ty said patting Moose's chocolate neck. The gelding had come to Heartland after his sweet personality turned into aggressive behavior. It had started after the owners bought a small Shetland pony as a companion. "Who was on the phone?"

"Oh, a Samantha Forster," Amy explained. "She had just bought a mustang gelding, who's been off the range for two years, except no one can get near him."

Ty nodded, "Is she bringing him here?"

"Well, here's the thing," Amy said. "She lives in Nevada and I kind of told her that I'll fly out and see him."

"So, you'll be leaving soon? When?" Ty asked fiddling with the lead in his hands.

"As soon as I can get a flight," Amy answered.

"But you just graduated, you should take some time off before you start anything big," Ty told her.

"I know," Amy said. "But she sounded desperate on the phone and you know how I can never turn away a horse in need."

"Yes, but I was hoping we could spend sometime together before you got too busy," Ty replied.

Amy smiled, "That's why I told her that we'll both come and take a look at him."

"What?" Ty asked disbelievingly.

Amy wrapped her arms around his waist as she said, "What do you mean 'what'? We're going to Nevada together!"

Ty's arms came around her, "Really?"

Amy nodded eagerly as Ty lowered his head toward hers. Their lips met in a sweet and passionate kiss. It was short, but only because Moose had decided that they were a scratching post and started scratching his head. They broke apart.

"Do you still want me to go get Sugarfoot?" Amy asked.

"Of coarse," Ty answered, smiling down at her.

Amy turned away to go get the pony from the pasture. She turned to throw a smile over her shoulder before continuing up the path. She couldn't wait to spend time alone with him.

---

That night at dinner, Amy and Ty told everybody the news. They were excited and thought it was good that they go away together. Amy had called Soraya, her best friend, earlier and told her all about it. Immediately, Soraya became jealous and she started talking about how her husband, Matt Trewin, never takes her anywhere. Amy finally decided to invite them both. At least, it was only two people.

"I've always wanted Holly to see the wild mustangs," Lou was saying. This brought Amy back to reality, and she knew where this was going.

"Well, somebody has to stay and take care of the horses," Amy told her, hoping she got the hint.

"Well, I'm sure Grandpa and Nancy can help out and Joni and her boyfriend, David, is here all the time anyway," Lou replied.

It was just the two of them in the kitchen now. Although they all made different excuses, everybody just wanted to be out of the way of the pending sister fight. Amy didn't want to fight with her sister and she knew she was right. Heartland would be in good hands for a little while. So, reluctantly, Amy agreed to have Lou, Scott, and Holly join her, Ty, Soraya, and Matt to Nevada.

She sighed, this was nothing like she planned.

**13 Hours Earlier–4:00 pm**

"Are sure you're up for this?" Sam asked her best friend, Jennifer Kenworthy, now Slocum, as the two girls got ready for a night out.

"Hey, I'm the one who asked to you to come, didn't I?" Jen commented.

"Yes, but you're six months pregnant, are you aloud to be going out?" Sam asked looking over her friend with worry.

"Sam, please don't start hovering over me," Jen pleaded. "I already get it from my husband and now my mother and I don't need it from you. Besides, Ryan's going to be there too."

"Which brings me to my next point," Sam said. "Are sure it's okay I'm going out with you and Ryan? I really don't want to intrude."

"Sam, I already told you, it's fine," Jen replied. "You have been working yourself to hard since your argument with what's his name, you need some fun and as your best friend, I am the one to give it to you."

"You?" Sam questioned looking at her friend's bulging stomach.

Jen hit Sam playfully, "You know what, now I'm going to be so harsh on you when you start showing."

"Shhh," Sam immediately hushed her.

"Sam!" Jen groaned. "Are you telling me you haven't told him or anyone yet?"

"How am I supposed to?" Sam questioned. "We haven't spoken since that day,"

Jen looked like she was about to say something, but shook her head, stopping herself and turned around.

"Oh okay, Miss Paternity Secret," Sam said. "When are you going to tell Ryan the truth?"

Jen spun around fast despite her size. "You know, that is completely different," Jen hissed.

"Oh really, seems the same to me," Sam snapped. "You know, he deserves to know the truth, it's better for everyone, including that baby!"

"I have a very good reason for my secret," Jen told her. "Unlike you, who can't even tell her fiancé, she's pregnant, all because of a stupid argument."

Sam turned around to face her bedroom window, not wanting her friend to see the tears that were blurring her vision. She sniffed and tried to blink back the tears. Jen was right, she should tell Jake the truth, but how was she supposed to when he wouldn't even talk to her. Sam growled in frustration.

"Sam, I'm sorry," Jen apologized. "That was insensitive of me. Even I know how Jake Ely can be, I shouldn't have snapped at you like that."

Sam turned back around, dabbing at her eyes. "It's okay," she smiled through her tears. "And I'm sorry too. I get that you don't want anybody to get hurt and that's exactly what you would be doing if this secret ever got out."

The two friends smiled at each other and hugged. When they pulled apart, Jen asked, "So, how's Shady coming along?"

Sam smiled, "Great, he actually ate some grain out of our hands today. Amy really has a way with horses."

"That's good," Jen said. "Now, we have to hurry, Ryan's going to be waiting for us."

---

"I can't believe how far you've gotten with Shady in only a week," Lou commented as they drove to the hotel they were going to for a celebration dinner. She, Scott, Amy, Ty, and Holly were squeezed in one car while Soraya and Matt were in another. Both were rentals.

"Well, we still have a long way to go," Amy said looking at Ty. She couldn't have done it without him. He smiled at her and she smiled back.

"Well, still," Lou said. "The Forsters seem to think it's a miracle and that's why we're going out to dinner to celebrate."

The rest of the car ride was silent except for the occasional three year old babble coming from Holly, Lou and Scott's daughter. Finally, they reached the hotel and they all headed inside not knowing what would happen.

---

Meanwhile, Jake Ely sat upstairs in the restaurant at the bar with the person he hated the most. He pulled at the tie around his neck and shifted uncomfortably in his chair. He didn't even know why he had come.

"Why am I here? I don't even you like you?" he asked Ryan Slocum, who sat next to him.

"Do want part in this business deal or what?" Ryan asked him back.

"I don't even know if I want to or not, you haven't told me," Jake answered.

"You'll find out as soon they get here," Ryan said.

"As soon as who gets here?" Jake asked, a curious look on his face. Ryan didn't say anything. Jake sighed. They sat there for a few minutes until Jake got really impatient. "That's it," With that he got up and headed for the elevator. He didn't even know why he came in the first place.

However, Jake didn't get very far because the elevator doors opened and two girls came out. A very pregnant blonde and a girl with auburn hair. His brown mustang eyes caught her green ones. They stayed like that for awhile before she stepped forward and spoke.

"What are you doing here?"

"I was just leaving," Jake answered.

Sam crossed her arms over her chest, "Good, the elevator's that way,"

Neither one of them moved.

Sam waited for him to say something, anything about why he hadn't talked to her for days. Knowing Jake Ely, he wasn't going to say anything and being as stubborn, she wasn't going to be the first one to say anything either.

Suddenly, Sam couldn't take it anymore and fled the restaurant. She hurried onto the elevator before anyone could catch her. Reacting immediately, Jake ran after her and without even looking at her husband, Jen followed him.

"Sam!" Jake called when he reached the lobby. She still hadn't left yet. Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw Jen right behind him and farther behind her he saw Amy, Ty, and the rest of the people of Heartland just enter the lobby.

Sam spun around, her greens eyes blazing, "What?"

Before he could say anything, however, the doors to the hotel lobby banged open and men dressed all in black appeared. Shots were fired toward the ceiling.

"Everybody stay where you are!" the man in front yelled. "This is robbery, cooperate and this will be over in five minutes!"

**A/N:** Dun Dun Dun... How's that for a cliff hanger? If you want to see what the girls' dresses look like, they're in my profile. Now if you want to know what happens next just review!


	3. 12 Hours Earlier

**Chapter Two**

12 Hours Earlier- 5pm

"Everybody stay where you are! This is a robbery, cooperate and it should all be over in five minutes!" The man then turned to the others, "Now," The men spread themselves around the room, machine guns poised. It seemed like they were checking out their surroundings, every now and then they would stop and point their guns at someone, keeping them in line.

Then it looked like the young woman at the front desk was going to push the silent alarm button. Unfortunely, the leader saw what she was doing too.

"Excuse me, excuse me," he said walking toward her, handgun drawn. "How badly do you want to be employee of the month?"

The woman looked on terrified that he had seen her. She slowly pulled her arms up where he could see them and looked around at the people around her.

"Very prudent," he commented. "I doubt you're being paid enough to risk your own life," He turned to face who looked to him as the hotel owner. "How do you inspire such loyalty and teamwork from your employees?"

"Everyone on my staff do as your told, no heroics," the hotel owner instructed the staff.

"I appreciate your support," the leader said and walked away from him. Everybody followed him with their eyes to see what was going to happen next.

"You can take anything you want," the owner told them.

"And I intend to," he turned to face the room. "Starting with cell phones, PDAs, and pagers, please."

With that, the men snapped into action. Two went around the room with bags, collecting everybody's stuff and a few started painting, doors, windows, and cameras black. Everybody watched them fearfully. Knowing she had to do something, Sam pulled out her cell phone. Half behind Jake, she tried not to make it obvious what she was doing. Silently, the leader saw what she was doing.

"No phone calls," one of the men said suddenly. He grabbed Jake by the shoulders, pulling him out of the way and lunged to Sam to grab the cell phone from her. Jen tried to help her best friend out by trying to pull the man off of her the best that she could.

"Stop, she's pregnant," she said.

Jake froze where he was.

The man kept his hold on Sam. Jake came forward, but before he could do anything, another man came up and hit him in the head with his machine gun. Jake fell onto the couch. Afterwards, the men continued with what they were doing. Jake lay where he had fallen, clutching his head.

The only woman in the group came over to Sam, Jen, Jake, who was sitting up on the couch, with a cut on his forehead. One by one they put their belongings in the bag. When it came to Sam, she threw her engagement ring in the bag without a second thought, crossed her arms and glared at Jake.

On the other side of the room, the other one with a bag was gathering the stuff from the Heartland group. They all handed their stuff over quietly until it was Amy's turn. She took off the necklace she was wearing and put it in the bag and then crossed her arms.

"The ring too," the man said, gesturing to her claddagh ring

"No," Amy replied simply.

"Do it, Amy," Ty told her from where he stood beside her.

"You gave me this ring and I'm going to wearing this for the rest of my life. No." She turned to face the man. "No."

"Is there a problem?" the leader asked walking up to them.

"Yes," Amy said. "You can have anything else, but you are not getting my ring."

"Well, you see, if I allow you to keep the ring, what about the other people," he looked around at everybody else and then back to her. "It would be unfair, wouldn't it?"

"This ring is very special to me, you have to understand," Amy responded.

"I'm afraid I must insist," he said.

"Fine," Amy replied taking the ring off and putting into the bag.

"Thank you," he said.

"The hotel phones are all turned off," a man said to the leader.

"Did you get the lobby phone, just in case?" he asked him.

The man nodded, "It's all set,"

The leader turned, "Five," another man walked up to him. "You and three can go to the vault. Take a hostage with you."

Five walked off and Three grabbed a young girl about twenty. The girl protested as she was grabbed. Together they all headed off in the direction of the hotel vault. After they left, Matt couldn't take it anymore and started forward toward the leader.

"Matt, what are you doing?" Amy questioned him as he pushed past her. He didn't answer her.

"Take what you want and get the hell out of this hotel, Mr. One or whoever the hell you are," Matt said, he made a grab for the man's mask, but he grabbed his wrist and shoved the gun under his chin.

"Matt, don't," Amy told him.

"Let go," Soraya also said walking forward a little. Slowly, Matt let go of the mask.

"I bet that impulsive streak of yours gets you into a lot of trouble," the leader said.

"I'm not going to let you hurt or bully anybody else," Matt remarked.

"What is he doing?" Amy whispered.

"I have no idea," Soraya whispered back.

Ty spoke to Matt, "Matt, Are you out of your mind? What do you think is going to happen if you would have pulled his mask off?"

The leader answered for him, "He's counting on the fact that I won't kill any of you. Which is a very dangerous assumption."

Behind them, the woman at the desk made another move for the silent alarm. Matt, subtly, tried to tell her not to, but the leader saw and spun around. The woman threw her arms up when he looked at her. He leaned on the desk and asked, "What did you just do?"

---

Inside the vault, Five and Three had just found what they had been looking for. A silver equinox briefcase, with a high-tech security lock and flashing lights. Three pulled it slowly off of the shelf just as an alarm started going off. Kelly, the girl they had taken hostage with them, looked toward the door and saw that it was closing. She started to make a break for it, but she was grabbed as all three of them tried to escape the vault without getting trapped inside.

Only one of them made it out, the other two were trapped inside with the briefcase.

---

Back to the lobby, one of the gunman was backing the woman to the wall. The leader turned to face Matt.

"I'm curious," he said. "Why did you try to stop her from hitting the silent alarm?"

"We don't need the police," Matt answered. "Your guys got into the vault, you'll be fine if you got away now."

Suddenly, Five came running back into the room.

"Where's the briefcase?" the leader asked him.

"It's in the vault," he answered. "The doors started closing, I thought Three was right behind me."

"You left the briefcase in the vault," the leader said in disbelief. He turned away from the room, contemplating what to do next. The hotel owner stepped forward.

"You won't be able to get into the vault for the next twelve hours," he said. The man was silent, not saying anything.

---

Outside the lobby, several police cars pulled up in front of the hotel. Police officers jumped out and met with the police commissioner.

"We could be dealing with thousands of people," one officer said.

"Don't worry, we have a strong protocol for a hostage takeover," the commissioner informed them all.

---

The man was still quiet with people trying to tell him what to do, to leave now without any charges. Then he walked off and turned to face the rest of the room. It looked like he was about to say something, until something happened.

"This is the Dalton Police Department," came a loudspeaker from outside. "We have the place surrounded."

The man spoke afterwards, "Well, now, I don't have much of a choice, do I?"

---

"No one fires a shot without a direct order, we clear on that?" the police commissioner instructed the rest of the force. "I don't want any dead civilians, and I know you don't either."

A police officer walked up to him, "We got into the building from the east entrance, lobby's sealed off."

"How many people are in there?" the commissioner asked.

"There's no way to tell," the officer answered. "But we're trying to get footage from the security cameras in the lobby."

"Alright, start evacuating the rest of the building, Go, go," the commissioner directed them all.

---

Suddenly, the leader fired three shots toward the front desk. Luckily, no one was hit.

"Now, that I have your attention," he said. "We have a long night ahead of us. I can't leave without that briefcase and the briefcase is locked up in the vault for the next twelve hours."

He started walking over to the front desk, "So, there's no point in spending our time together in an unpleasant way, so we're going to play a little game. We'll call it Get to Know you. We're going to walk around the room, ask you name and a word to describe yourself." He turned to the front desk and picked up a pencil holder, dumping out its contents as he turned back to face the room. "For example, My name is One, so I would say Fun One. It doesn't have to rhyme, but you get extra points if it does and points will be very important as the night goes on. Anyone, who drops this will end up as a human shield as we leave here." He handed it to Matt. "Go,"

Matt looked at him and then took the pencil holder, "Menacing Matt."

"Very good, now toss it to someone else," One said, gun poised. Matt threw it behind him. Jake caught it. One pointed the gun toward him.

"Jake the Snake," he said.

"Fair," One replied walking towards him a little. "He or she who hesitates, you know the rest. Now go, don't make me repeat myself again."

Jake tossed it to Sam. She caught it and said, "Sweet Sam,"

"Love it, faster," One ordered.

Sam handed it to Jen. "Baby's breath Jen,"

She tossed it to Amy. "Horse Healer Amy,"

She handed it to Ty. "Tough Ty,"

He tossed it to Soraya. "Sassy Soraya,"

She handed it to Lou. "Screw you Lou,"

She handed it to Scott. "Vet Scott,"

"Pass it to the little girl," One told him, gesturing to where Holly sat on the couch, hands clasped together on her lap. Carefully, Scott tossed it to his daughter. Holly managed to catch it and held it with her small, shaking hands. She didn't say anything.

"C'mon now," One said gun pointed at her and walked toward her. "C'mon, think."

Holly stared up at the man, who was now standing directly above her, fearfully.

"Oh, come on, it's not that difficult...No," the next time he spoke it was to the whole room. "Ladies and Gentlemen, we have our first loser of the night!"

"NO!" Lou screamed as she rushed forward and grabbed her daughter. Holly clung to her mother, after a few seconds and a few whispers from her mother, the little girl looked up at the masked man.

"Jolly Holly," she squeaked.

One kept his gun poised for a moment and then lowered it, "Nice work, nice work all of you. Bravo," he clapped his hands together. "So, now that we all know each other a little more, don't think of yourselves as hostages, but think of yourselves as my guests. Sit quietly, behave yourselves, or die. It's that kind of a party."

Then, he pulled the trigger on his gun. A shot rippled through the air as it hit Soraya in the side, who fell onto the couch with a scream. Everyone turned around, shocked. Amy and Matt hurried over to the fallen Soraya.

"So, now you all know I mean business,"

**A/N:** Another cliffy, I'm so mean, I know! But I love doing it to you all. Well, you know the drill, review if you want more.


	4. 11 Hours Earlier

**Chapter Three**

11 Hours Earlier– 6pm

The police commissioner walked behind a police car to where two police officers were standing, guns poised.

"I'm sending you in," he told one of the officers. "Gain access through the rear entrance. The priority is to get as many hostages out as possible before the situation escalates."

"You got it, commissioner," the officer answered.

Farther away, someone new was listening in to the conversation. He had just arrived at the scene and was surprised to see the police cars surrounding the building. Darrell stopped when he heard the word hostages. The only reason why he was here was because he wanted to admit his feelings for Jen and knew she was here. But now that wouldn't happen because she was a hostage.

---

Ty moved Soraya to a horizontal position on the couch with the help of Amy, while keeping his jacket pressed to her side to prevent blood loss. Scott tried to go to them, but one of men pointed their automatic gun at him and he stopped. One started to walk over to him.

"Hello," One responded pointing his gun at Scott. "Still trying to be a hero."

Jake spoke up from behind him, "You want to shoot somebody, I'm right here,"

One turned around to face him.

"Shoot me," Jake goaded him.

One pointed the gun at him, and took off the safety lock. He kept it there for a second and then pointed it at Sam who was standing next to Jake. "Ladies first,"

Soraya's breathing was becoming short and rapid, she stared wide-eyed at the ceiling.

"She's bleeding and I don't know how to stop it!" Amy suddenly cried out from her spot next to her best friend. One turned his head slowly in her direction.

"I'm a vet, please let me help her," Scott pleaded with him.

"I'm a doctor," Matt said stepping forward.

Suddenly, one of the men came forward, gun poised, "No one moves, unless we say so, got that?" One gestured to them come over and he went. Scott and Matt slowly kneeled down one next to Amy and the other next to Ty.

"This is crazy," Ty said loud enough for them all to hear. "Standing around, doing nothing, while Soraya's bleeding to death right here on this couch."

"Soraya is going to get the help she needs and we'll all get out of this," Lou told him, she was still holding a scared Holly.

"Did I say you could talk?" One asked walked towards her. "Did I? Hmm? If anybody wants to, feel free to stretch your legs, please. Nothing challenges me more than a moving target. You care for me to demonstrate." He pointed the gun around the room as he spoke. Slowly, he pointed it to one person at a time while saying, "Eeenie, Meenie, Miney, Moe," He pressed the gun to Amy's back.

"You made your point," Jake said suddenly. "I think I can speak for everybody here, we know you mean business, but you know hurting innocent people, while you're pulling off a heist ups the stakes. You guys get caught, you're going to face the death penalty, all of you," he pointed to everyone of the armed men. "So, why don't you save your backs and let the medical personnel save Soraya's life,"

One walked up to Jake, an evil smirk on his face. He stopped in front of him and sighed. Then in one fluid motion, he lifted his gun and said, "Will he?" He fired off two shots.

---

Everybody outside ran into position, including the commissioner, when they heard the gunshots. All their guns were poised, ready to fire if they had to. Darrell ran up to the police commissioner.

"When are you going to diffuse the situation?" Darrell questioned. "Are you just going to wait for them to start throwing dead bodies out?"

"We're following procedure," the commissioner explained. "You don't like it too bad. Cell phone is dodgy at best, so we're flying blind. I have two officers gaining access from the rear entrance, they're evacuating the rest of the building starting at the restaurant level, there's a safe stairwell at the rear of the building."

"So, everything's happening in the lobby?" Darrell asked.

"It appears that way," the commissioner answered.

"Do you have a list of hostages?" Darrell asked.

"No," the commissioner answered, a hint of annoyance in his voice.

"You don't know even if anybody's still alive," Darrell stated. "You're in over your head."

"You better hope, you're wrong," the commissioner retorted. "Because I'm all you've got."

---

One looked at the bullet holes in the wall and then walked back to Jake, "Will you look at that projectory, it's always drifting to the left," He stopped right in front of him. "I applaud you though, you didn't even flinch when I fired the gun past your head. Very impressive. So to award your extraordinary courage, the doctors have my permission to attend to the lady with the gunshot wound, see how nice I can be."

"You pompous bastard," Sam murmured to herself.

"Excuse me," One said heading toward her. "Did you say something?"

"She didn't say anything," Jake answered for her, One turned to look at him. "Scott, Matt, can you help Soraya?" Both men nodded and began to help the others. While they began to attend to Soraya, all was quiet, until the sound of whimpering came from Holly. It was muffled from where she had her head in her mother's chest, but it was loud all the same.

"Could somebody please shut her up?" One asked anybody in the group. Lou began whispering to the frightened girl and rubbing her small back. Soon, Holly was quiet again.

"I cannot treat her here," Matt said. "She's bleeding and going into shock. We need equipment."

"Aww," was all that One said. "Sorry."

Scott stood up at that, not being able to control his anger anymore, "You son of a bch, you have to let someone take her out!"

"Eight," One instructed with the jerk of his head. With that, Eight slammed the barrel of his gun into the back of Scott's head, knocking him to the ground. Lou gripped her daughter tighter, trying to fight off the urge to run to her fallen husband.

"So everyone's clear, I don't have to do anything," One informed everybody.

---

"Everybody to the holding area, I need all non-essential personnel to stay back!" the commissioner said through a loudspeaker, as people from the upper levels of the hotel came running. Then he spoke to one officer, "You, hold those reporters back, keep them back,"

---

"Boss," the only woman in the group said as they came back into the lobby. "We took Dr. Scott and put him in an office and locked it."

"Very good," One replied.

"Hey," Sam whispered to Jake. "If you can get someone to create a diversion, I can sneak out the service door..."

"Do not even think about it," Jake told her. Sam looked at him.

"She's still alive?" One asked the ones working on Soraya.

"We need to get the bullet out," Matt stated. "She needs suction, sutures."

"We need some towels, we need a first aid kit," Amy added.

---

"Her pulse is weaker," Matt observed his fingers on Soraya's neck. "Keep the pressure right there." He advised Ty.

"Okay," Ty said.

Just then, the phone at the front desk started to ring. Everybody looked at the phone and then at One, who started walking over to it.

"I knew we needed the lobby phone," He reached over and picked up the phone. "Good evening, who am I speaking to?"

"This is Commissioner Jones," the commissioner answered. "We have you surrounded."

"Yes, I heard you the first time, when you yelled it through that dreadful bullhorn," One simply said. "You think that surrounding the building with your men will give you an advantage, um, I don't think so. You see I have already shot one person and she's bleeding to death as we speak."

---

Commissioner Jones ran up to the two officers he had sent to evacuate the rest of the building, "Okay, tell me everything we know about the hostages," he told them.

"We got several hotel staff, the assistant manager, a security head, two bellhops, two clerks, and some hotel tenants," one of the officers explained.

---

"There's an unblocked door where they put Scott and I know it leads outside," Sam whispered to Jen, unknowingly Jake overheard her. "If you can create a diversion, I can slip out and get the cops in here."

"The police are obviously waiting for a hostage negotiator," One was saying to his men. "It's time for us to buy us some more leverage." He nods to Two, who picks up a big, black duffel bag, unzips it and reveals explosives.

"Is that what I think it is?" Jen asked, whispering to Sam.

"They're either going to try to blow the vault or the lobby," Sam whispered back.

Jen turned to look at her, "Why would they do that, they're in here too?" Without waiting for an answer, she walked toward One. "Hey, Fun One."

He turned to face her.

"Did it ever occur to you that if Soraya dies, everyone in here is going to freak," Jen said. "That may put a crimp in your crowd control. There's probably a first aid kit behind the desk, why don't you let me get it for you."

With that, Sam turned and started to slowly make her way towards the back without anyone seeing her. That is until Jake stopped her.

"Let Sam get the kit," Sam stopped in her tracks. "Sweet Sam." Sam turned slowly around to face One.

"You mean the little one with the bad judgement," One replied. "Alright, don't try anything, darling." Sam sighed a little and then went over to the front desk to get the kit.

Jen walked back over to Jake. "What the hell are you doing?" she asked him. "I was trying to create a diversion."

"No more diversions for now on," Jake said. "Do not do anything I do not tell you to do."

---

"Prep for at least one gunshot victim, but there could be more," Commissioner Jones was telling two paramedics. "Many more."

"Alright, time's up," Darrell said as he strode up to the commissioner. "I'm not waiting any longer for you to botch my lover's rescue."

The commissioner was beginning to lose his patience with Darrell. "There's already been one hostage shot, if you go in there and make things worse, I will shoot you myself," he threatened.

---

Sam found the first aid kit behind the desk, as she was pulling it off the shelf, she noticed one of the men putting something up on the wall. She handed the kit over to the team working on Soraya and went back to Jake and Jen.

Matt took the kit, opened it up, and looked inside. Then he looked up frustrated, "There is nothing here, that I can use to operate. We can slow the blood loss, but she needs surgery now or she's not going to make it."

"Do you know anything about explosives?" Jen was asking Sam.

"Yeah, a little bit too much," Sam sighed. "There's enough here to blow us all up."

"May I have your attention!" One called. "Please, thank you. You may have noticed the additions to the lobby decor, if you've guessed it's plastique, you are correct. There's enough explosives here to destroy the lobby and all of you, but not in case you're wondering any of us." He picked up a small object. "There is a sixty second delay on the detonator, that's one minute if you prefer to generalize, if you become more trouble than the objective in the vault is worth, we shall press the button, go out the back and you shall all go boom."

He paused for a second.

"The police will be so distracted searching through your shattered bodies that they won't pay any attention us," One continued. "Now, if anyone feels the urge to become a hero," he raised the detonator and passed it to Two, who held it up for everyone to see as he said this, "Our team will be rotating possession of the detonator, so you'll never know which one of us has it. So, if you try to seize it and guess wrong, you and the lobby will all be blown to bits. Any questions?"

No one answered.

"That's very wise," One said smiling. "So, I suggest you all sit down, relax and enjoy the experience 'cause it may well be your last one on earth. Thank you." With that, One turned back to his men.

"Did you hear what he said?" Jake asked Sam. "For now on, you just do what I tell you to do. No more plans with Jen, just stick with me, close by, and be ready to move."

"What are you going to do?" Sam questioned him.

"These guys are going to wait for the vault to open and then they'll blow this hotel sky-high," Jake explained. "To cover their tracks, they're not going to leave any survivors."

By now, there were tears in Sam's eyes.

"There's no way in hell, I'm going to let..." he stopped for a moment, "...my child not have a chance to live."

Sam stepped forward, putting both hands on either side of his face, not wanting to hear it. But Jake wasn't finished, and she dropped her hands.

"So, I'm going to do what ever I have to do to get you both out of here alive,"

**A/N: **I am sorry that it took me so long to update. I promise you that it will not happen again. But I hope it was worth the wait. Anyway, you know what you have to do, if you want more.


	5. 10 Hours Earlier

**Chapter Four**

10 hours earlier– 7pm

Darrell started walking purposely down the sidewalk, with a determined look on his face. He was going to get in that hotel even if it killed him. That is, until Commissioner Jones stopped him.

"Wait a sec, where do you think you're going?" he questioned him.

"You can stand here and haggle for hostages all you want," Darrell responded. "I'm getting my friends out of there." With that, Darrell pushed past him, but the commissioner grabbed his arm before he could go far.

"Hey, hey," the Commissioner Jones said. "You're friends are not the only people in that lobby, all right, their not the only ones trapped in there. There are other lives to be taken into consideration, like–"

"Why are you standing here?" Darrell questioned him. "You've given them all this extra time to secure their position."

"What's going on?" a police officer, who was a friend of Darrell's, came running up to the two of them.

"Your friend is unhappy with the way the police department is handling the situation," Commissioner Jones explained.

"You're doing it too slow!" Darrell retorted.

"I'm warning you, you go into that building you're under arrest," Commissioner Jones warned and then left the two of them alone.

"I'm going in," Darrell told his friend after the commissioner was out of earshot. "Are you with me?"

---

"Her pressure is dropping," Matt said. "We need to elevate her legs." Together, he and Ty moved a pillow underneath Soraya's legs.

"She's losing too much blood," Amy replied.

"There's nothing else I can do for her," Matt explained. "Soraya needs surgery."

"Hey," One said walking towards the group, pointing the gun at Amy. "Didn't I make myself clear? You talk, you die."

The three of them stared up at him. One stayed like that for a minute and then walked away from them. He walked past Jen and Lou, who were both sitting on the seat in front of a big plant. Holly was seated in the middle of them.

"We can't wait for the police to rescue us," Jen whispered. "We're going to have to get out of here ourselves."

"How?" Lou asked her, looking at her.

"There's a door at the end of the hall, it leads to the parking lot," Jen explained.

"Even, if we do make it out of here, how do we get out, they've sealed off all the exits–" Lou said.

"No, no, the employee break room," Jen replied. "There's an entrance there."

"I'm in," Lou responded. "What do you want me to do?"

"Whatever you are planning, forget it, I'm not going to let you risk your life to save me," Sam was telling Jake.

"Our child needs you, Sam," Jake told her.

"The baby needs both of us," Sam insisted. "I'm not leaving here without you."

Suddenly, a gunshot rippled through the air, Jake grabbed Sam and pulled her down, before either one of them were hit. A small yelp escaped Sam when the gun was fired directly at them.

"You okay?" Jake asked her.

Sam nodded.

"She's fine," One answered for her as he walked past them to the wall behind them. He looked at the bullet hole. "Oh dear, missed." He faced the others and walked back to them.

"It appears from your mutterings back and forth that you started to forget the guidelines for these proceedings," One said. "Allow me to refresh your memory, you are _hostages_. You cooperate or you die. There are no other options. It's true that my team and I are waiting for the vault to open, we very much like to grab what's inside. However, there comes a point at which any undertaking becomes untenable. If you force us to cut our losses and leave without the item we came here for, we shall reciprocate by locking you up in the lobby and blowing you to kingdom kom. So you see, your ability to follow instructions, may very well, save your lives."

---

"I am not hanging my friends' lives on police procedure," Darrell was telling his police friend.

"Darrell, I want those people as safe as you do, but charging in there will only make things worse," Officer Reynolds tried to tell him.

"We passed worse about a half hour ago," Darrell argued.

"If you go rushing in there, it could get your friends shot," Officer Reynolds said. "Just like that first victim. These guys are desperate, Darrell. They've got nothing to lose, we do."

---

"Ray," the D.A. addressed the commissioner as he walked up to him. "How are we with the hostages?"

"One's been shot," Commissioner Jones informed him. "No word on the others."

"How are you holding up?" the D.A. asked him. He knew that the commissioner had never handled a situation like this before.

"I don't know if I can do this," Commissioner Jones confessed. "If I say or do something and they don't make it out..."

"Hey, Ray, don't worry about it, I'll take it from here," the D. A. told him. "You got a dedicated line?"

Commissioner Jones handed over the phone he had used to speak with the hostage taker. The D. A. started dialing a number.

"There's a lot of lives at stake," Commissioner Jones said. "Don't screw it up."

---

One whispered something to one of his men and then turned to address the room, "I imagine you're thinking about the detonator," He started walking past the couch, where Soraya was lying.

"Which one of us has it," he continued. "Are we going to trigger it? After all, sixty seconds isn't that long. Will we make it out in time? I can assure you that our exit strategy is very well planned, we'll be leaving, you'll be staying. The only question is if any of you will be in one piece." He looked down in front of you. "You, Jake the Snake. No doubt your conversant in the subject of explosives."

"Well, I'm not a college graduate, so I don't know what conversant means," Jake said.

"Take a guess," One told him.

"Okay, you've got enough plastique here taped to the walls to blow this lobby sky-high," Jake replied.

"Well, depending its structural integrity, the explosion may take the whole building down," One laughed. "I have to admit that it's tempting to see what will happen." He sighed. "Oh well, I'll just have to look for that later." He walked past Jake and Sam.

"I know his voice," Sam said turning to Jake.

"Can you place it?" Jake asked her.

"No, not without seeing his face," she started to get up and go after One. But Jake pulled her back down.

"No, no, don't even think about it," Jake told her.

"Don't you want to know who he is and why the hell he's doing this?" Sam asked him.

"We know why, he wants the briefcase in the vault," Jake said.

"And after he gets it, he's going to blow the entire lobby," Sam replied.

"We've got twelve hours–"

"We're just going to sit here,"

"We've got twelve hours," Jake repeated. "Before the vault opens, that gives us enough time to figure out a way to get out of here without you having to rip that mask off his face."

Slowly, Sam started to believe him.

"We don't want to shake his confidence," Jake continued. "Let him think he's in control of the situation.

Just then, the phone started to ring again. Everybody turned to look at it. One walked over to the front desk and laid his hand on top of the phone.

"That would be the hostage negotiator preparing to bargain for your lives," as he talked the phone continued to ring in the background. "But I'll rather give you the opportunity to win them back. So, we're going to play another little game." He walked away from the desk without answering the phone. "Which I like to call Musical Hostages." He stopped behind the people working on Soraya. "The rules are very simple. I pair you off periodically and at the end of each round the one without a partner loses. Simple."

"What happens when there's an even number of people?" Jen asked him.

"That's an excellent question, you get twenty points," One said walked towards her. "I guess I'm going to have to find someone to get rid of. Hmm." He looked around at the room of hostages trying to decide which one he should choose. "I think I'll start with you," One turned and pointed his gun at Lou, who looked up at him fearfully.

"C'mon," One said pulling her up from where she was sitting. "We won't be needing you at the moment." He pushed her toward one of his men, who led her away from the room. Ty suddenly go up from where he was and started toward One, but one of the men grabbed his arm.

"Take me instead," Ty said.

"You'll have to wait for the next round, I already made my selection," One told him.

"Can't you see she has a daughter to take care of?" Ty questioned gesturing toward Holly, who was looking up at them scared, wondering where her mother went.

"Chivalry may not be dead, but she will be if you don't back off," One threatened. "So, sit down before I change my mind and play Shoot the Hostage instead. Go."

One moved off to redirect the hostages to new locations in the room. The man who had a hold of Ty pushed him to where Jen and Holly were sitting and pushed him down and grabbed Holly. The little girl gave a startled cry.

"Where are they taking Lou?" Jen asked Ty.

"I don't know," Ty sighed.

"We have to do something to help her," Jen said. They both looked up when they heard Amy's voice.

"No, no no no," she was saying as one of the men pulled her away from Soraya and brought her over to another place in the room and pushed her to the floor.

"No, we have to keep pressure on the wound," Matt said when One yanked him up. "She's going to bleed to death."

One was resistant, he spoke to one of his men on the other side of the room, "Put the snake's girl with the doctor's wife."

The man moved to take Sam.

"No, whoa, wait a minute–" Jake began, but Sam cut him off.

"Why, why?" she questioned, trying to resist the man's hold as he started to walk her forward. "Matt's the doctor, I can't help her." The man brought her over to where Soraya lay. "I can't help Soraya! I don't know how!" she repeated as she was pushed to the floor.

"It should be fun to watch you make it up as you go," One replied after he had put Matt with Jake.

"Where do want her boss?" Two asked standing next to Holly. Everybody turned to look at those two, the same thought on all of their minds. One looked too and walked over to them.

"Looks like you're the odd one out," One said to Holly. "Take care of her." Two started to grab Holly until Sam stopped her.

"Soraya won't last five minutes if Holly doesn't help me,"

One looked at Sam, then at Holly and back again, "Alright," Wide-eyed, Holly started walking over to Sam with Two's gun pointed on her the whole time. When Holly sat down next to her, Sam put her arm around the frightened little girl, who sighed and leaned into Sam.

"How's Soraya doing?" Jake asked Matt in a whisper.

"She's going to bleed to death if we don't find some way to get her out of here," Matt answered.

---

"I can't just stand here knowing Jen's in danger," Darrell said looking toward the hotel building.

"How is it going to help Jen if you walk in there and get yourself killed?" Officer Reynolds questioned his friend. "You're not superman. You can't walk in there and walk out–"

"Jason, face it," Darrell said. "These flatfoots are useless. This SWAT team couldn't swat flies. You and me, were everybody's best hope."

---

The phone started to ring again. Everybody turned to look at it, wondering what was going to happen now. One started to make his way over to it, sighing as he did so.

"That must be the commissioner," One picked up the phone. "No doubt waiting for an update on the gunshot victim. What should I tell him?"

"To blow your head off," Sam remarked. Jake and One looked at her.

"Yes," One said into the phone.

"This is District Attorney Michael Saunders," came the voice over the phone.

"Oh, what about Commissioner Jones?" One asked.

"Well, he thought that I'd be in a better position to help you," D.A. Saunders answered.

"Is that so?" One replied.

"Is there anything I can get you to make you more comfortable in there?" the D.A. asked.

"Well, let me think about it Mr. Saunders," One answered. "I'll get back to you." With that, he hung up.

"The man on the phone didn't sound panicked or particularly worried about anything, which means he doesn't have a lot of incentive to negotiate," D.A. Saunders said to the commissioner.

"What about the gunshot victim?" Commissioner Jones asked.

"He didn't mention her," D.A. answered turning and walking away. Commissioner Jones looked at the building and then followed him.

---

A detective walked up to the district attorney. "The press overheard the guys talking about the gunshot victim, they want a statement," he informed him.

"Alright, why don't you just tell the press that we're doing everything we can to secure the safe release of the gunshot victim," D.A. Saunders told him.

"They've agreed to release her?" the detective questioned.

"They will," D.A. replied and then turned to the captain of the SWAT team. "Captain, how long before you can fill that entire lobby with tear gas?"

"A few seconds," the captain answered. "Why?"

"We got to do something to rattle this guy's cage," the D.A. said.

Darrell was sitting on a stoop behind them and heard every word that they said. He got up and walked over to Officer Jason Reynolds.

"Hey," he said getting the officer's attention. "This is ridiculous. You got a Napoleonic D.A. over there barking orders at a bunch of toy soldiers, inside their staring down a barrel of a gun. Are going to put innocent people's lives in Saunders' hands?"

"Darrell, you can't guarantee that you can stroll in there and bring anybody out," Jason said.

"You don't understand," Darrell replied. "I know this place. All I got to do is get in there, you just run interference for me with these spuds and I will get the situation in hand, not just for Jen, but for everybody else who is trapped in there."

---

"I'll do whatever you want, just don't hurt my daughter," Lou was saying as the man pulled her down a hall. He came to a door and opened it. He shoved her inside the dark room and locked her in. She ran back to the door and started to bang on it, "No no no no, don't leave me in here! Please don't leave me in here! You can't do this!" It was too late.

Lou sighed and turned the light on after she heard a moan. When she turned around, she was shocked at what she saw. Scott lay on the couch holding his head and moaning quietly. His eyes were closed, so he didn't see her.

"Scott," Lou breathed as she walked over to him. "Scott, can you hear me?"

Scott opened his eyes and looked her, "How's Soraya?"

"She's alive," Lou answered him. "Matt's taking care of her." She took the towel from his hand, poured some water from the glass on the table onto it and placed it on his head. "Don't worry, we're going to get out of here somehow. Somebody's going to come and get us."

---

"He's back, now's our chance," Jen said to Ty after One had walked past them. Ty looked over at her.

"Chance for what?" he asked her.

"If we go to the break room, we can sneak out the back and get out," Jen explained as she started to slide around the bench that circled the plant. Ty grabbed her.

"No, you stay right here," Ty told her. Jen didn't listen to him, she continued to slide down the bench, looking around the room to make sure no one saw her.

"Is she okay?" Holly asked Sam.

Sam took one hand off the wound and checked Soraya's pulse. "Her pulse is weak, but steady," she said.

"Is that good?" Holly asked.

Sam nodded, "I think so," She looked back down at the wound and sighed, "But not for long, she's losing so much blood, this thing is soaked through. We're going to have to replace it with something else."

"Here," Holly said picking up her father's jacket from the floor and Sam began to take the blood-stained one off.

"Sam, don't!" the outburst came out of Amy before she could stop it. Both Sam and Holly looked up at her. "Her blood won't be able to clot if you take that off, add the jacket on top."

Sam nodded and took the jacket from Holly and placed it on top of the other one. One walked over to Amy, gun pointed down at her.

"Your shift is over," he told her.

"I was just trying to help them get the bleeding under control," Amy explained quietly.

"Well, give another tip like that and you'll be bleeding faster than your patient," One threatened.

"She made a mistake," Jake spoke up. "It's not going to happen again."

"Make sure of it," One told him. He turned and walked away from them. Jake looked at Matt next to him and saw that he was sitting anxiously on the edge of his 'seat'.

"Okay, you want to help," Jake began. "You sit here and pretend to cooperate. The less attention you call to yourself, the easier it will be to slip out of here, if there's an opening."

"I'm not leaving here until we're all released," Matt stated.

"Somebody has to tell the cops that this lobby is wired to explode," Jake said.

---

Suddenly, Wyatt Forster came running onto the police scene outside the hotel lobby. He ran right up to the district attorney.

"Is there any word on the hostages?" he asked.

"Just that one has been shot. A female," D.A. Saunders answered. "We're trying—"

"Okay, we need to keep trying," Wyatt interrupted him. "We need to find out who exactly has been shot."

"If you push this, it could go wrong," the D.A. warned him.

"Look, my daughter is in there, you need to get her out," Wyatt said. "Please, just find out."

Rather reluctantly, the D.A. dialed the lobby's number again. Inside, One picked it up.

"Perhaps you don't understand the protocol," One said. "When I say I'll get back to you that indicates that you should wait for the phone to ring."

"Yes, I understand," D.A. Saunders replied. "Can you give us an update on the woman you shot? Maybe who she is?"

"Well, I assure you she's still breathing, but she's also still bleeding," One answered.

"Why don't you let us take her out?" D.A. Saunders asked.

"I'm not going to be able to release any of the hostages, you see I've grown quite attached to the lot of them," One answered.

"At least, let us get some medical supplies in there," D.A. Saunders bargained.

"I'll get back to you," One said. "To be clear that means you should wait for me to call."

---

Jen was still making her way slowly around the bench, making sure that no one saw what she was doing. Though, Ty saw that she was still persistent on trying to sneak out.

"Jen, get back here," Ty muttered to her. "Get over here." Jen didn't listen to him, she continued to slide over. She was almost there, when One sat down beside her to her right.

"Going somewhere?" he asked her.

"I just wanted to get some water," Jen answered and started to get up until another man sat on the other side of her, preventing her from going anywhere.

"Oh, apparently, you don't need those pretty little legs to get it," One said standing up and taking a few steps forward and then turned back to face her and pointed his gun at her leg. "So, we'll just shoot the right one."

"No, please," Jen whispered on the verge of tears.

"I can't do this!" came Sam's cry as she abruptly stood up from her place beside Soraya. She wasn't going to let that man hurt her best friend. "I can't do this! I don't even know Soraya and here I am covered with her blood, why should I risk my life to save hers?"

"Well, if you'd rather sit back and watch her die—" One started walking toward Sam.

"I don't even know if she is breathing," Sam said. "I'm not a doctor."

One walked over to Soraya and addressed Holly, "Does she have a pulse?" Holly shrugged, she didn't even know what he was talking about. One looked at Sam.

"You have to let one of the doctors help her," Sam told him.

"Amy," One said walked toward her. "Would you care to assist?"

Amy nodded and got up, "Of course," She walked over to him and One met her halfway, stopping right in front of Ty.

One lifted his hand and ran his finger along Amy's cheek, " Say please...pretty, pretty please,"

Amy closed her eyes as his continued to touch her, "Ple– please?"

"And what are willing to give me in return?" One asked her. At that, Ty started to jump up, but a barrel of a machine gun was pressed to his chest, pushing him back down. "Amy, darling,"

"A mutually beneficial arrangement," One continued not paying any attention to the Ty dilemma. "Should we go somewhere less public?" He took her arm.

Ty couldn't take it anymore, he quickly stepped in front of Amy and stood face to face with One, "You lay a hand on her, I swear–"

Suddenly, Jake came up behind Ty and pulled him away, "No come here,"

Amy turned to face Ty, but spoke to One, "Ty was acting on instinct," She turned to face One. "He was afraid you were going to hurt me."

"Are you afraid?" One asked her.

"Which answer would save Ty?" Amy asked back.

"That one," One said, he spoke to Ty. "Congratulations, the lovely lady just bought you some more time. Use it wisely. And since you seem to be so adept at controlling him, Ty will stay with you for the foreseeable future. Let's change things up a bit, shall we? Here we go." One moved away from her and started moving people again. Ty was pushed back to where he was and Jake moved next to him.

"Okay, don't let him yank your chain," Jake told him. "If you don't get a grip, you're going to get us all killed."

"Oh—Oh!" Jen cried as One pulled her over to Soraya.

One pointed to Holly, "You over with her," He pointed to Jen. "You take over."

"Me?" Jen questioned.

"You obviously need something to occupy yourself," One told her, he looked toward Sam. "You, feel free to help." One moved away from them and Sam moved next to Jen.

"Soraya, needs a doctor," Sam said.

One looked at her and then back to Amy, "Yes, well, Amy and I still have to finalize a few details. If you'll excuse us." He grabbed Amy by the arm and led her away from the lobby.

One led Amy down a hall, more like pushing her.

"Where are going?" Amy asked him. They stopped in front of a door.

"I thought you might want a few moments to find out what you're willing to do to help poor Soraya." One answered.

"Soraya needs surgery," Amy told him. "You have to let her out of here."

"I don't _have_ to do anything," One responded.

"If she's not evacuated soon, Soraya is going to bleed to death," Amy informed him. "Nothing in that vault could be worth someone's life."

"Well, that's a matter of opinion, darling," One said. He turned her around and opened the door. When they entered, Amy saw Scott lying on the couch with Lou sitting next to him.

"My— Scott?" Amy replied shocked walking over to them. "Are you alright?"

"He's a little disoriented," Lou told her. "I think he has a concussion." Amy went over to them and started to check Scott over. Lou was right, he did, in fact, have a concussion.

"I'm afraid, only one of you will be rejoining the group," One said from the doorway. "So, which one will it be?"

Amy and Lou looked at each other.

"You go," Amy told her sister. "Holly needs you."

Lou nodded, stood up and walked over to where One was waiting.

"C'mon," One encouraged her. "Go." With that, the two of them left, leaving Scott and Amy alone in the room.

---

"There are two service corridors that can be entered through the loading dock," Officer Rodriguez explained as he and Officer Reynolds looked at map of the hotel layout.

"Yeah, but there's no direct access to the lobby," Officer Reynolds pointed out. "What if we–um–" He stopped when he saw something over the other officer's shoulder.

"You all right?" Officer Rodriguez asked.

"Give me a minute," Officer Reynolds answered and then walked up to Darrell, who was dressed in a SWAT team uniform. "Darrell, there's no way I'm letting you do this."

"Look, these people have a definite objective," D.A. Saunders was telling Wyatt Forster, who was not leaving him alone.

"You think I care?" Wyatt questioned him.

"You should because it's the only reason that they haven't negotiated," D.A. Saunders told him.

"I don't give a damn," Wyatt said. "Just find out what they want in exchange for my daughter."

---

One pulled Lou back into the lobby and pushed her down next to Hazel, the girl who worked at the front desk.

"Have a seat," One told her.

Just then, the phone started to ring again.

"There's a regrettable lack of courtesy in this town," One said as he walked over to the phone and picked it up. "Yes?"

"If the victim dies, you are looking at a murder with special circumstances, and that is the death penalty," D.A. Saunders told him. "For her sake, as well as yours, why don't you let us take her out or at least get some medical supplies in there."

"No, we don't have to do anything," One replied. "We're going to leave everything the way it is. Bye."

---

"You should be out there with Soraya," Scott told Amy, sitting up on the couch.

"Scott, you have a concussion, there's no way I'm going to leave you alone," Amy reasoned coming out of the bathroom with some ice wrapped up in a towel.

"It's just a bump," Scott tried to convinced, but failed when he winced as Amy put the ice on his head.

Amy chuckled, "So, just because you've been a vet longer than I have, I'm supposed to take your word for it?"

Scott sighed, "Okay, maybe I do have a concussion,"

"See, now was that so hard to admit," Amy joked. "But seriously, now you have to rest...but don't fall asleep."

"Oh, that makes sense," Scott scoffed.

"Hey, I'm trying," Amy defended.

"I know," Scott said sincerely. "And you're doing a very good job."

---

"Where's Amy?" Ty asked when One walked over to him.

"You're girlfriend is attending to her brother-in-law," One informed him. "Tell me, is she as beautiful out of her dress as she is in it?"

"You lay a hand on her and I will kill you," Ty calmly threatened.

"I'm not the one living on borrowed time," One said. "But if you want to survive this, you might want to counsel your friend on the benefits of compliance."

After that, Jake stood up to face him, "I'd rather talk to you,"

"About what?" One asked.

"I want to make you an offer," Jake answered.

"Find another office for Jake, see to it that he's comfortable," One instructed one of his men. Jake was led out of the lobby after that.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Jen apologized to Sam. "I should've listened to Ty and stayed where I was supposed to."

"You took a chance to make things better," Sam said. "There's nothing wrong with that."

"Soraya's not getting any better is she?" Jen asked, looking down at Soraya.

"She's not going to die," Sam told her, then she leaned down toward Soraya. "Do you hear me? I am not going to let everyone blame me for letting you bleed to death. So, you better pull through this."

Soraya was coming to. "What are you doing?" she asked her.

"I'm saving your life," Sam told her.

---

"You just turn around and walk away," Darrell told Officer Jason Reynolds as he put on a helmet.

"Darrell, if you go in there, you could get someone killed," Jason warned him.

D.A. Saunders started walking up to the two of them, not realizing that Darrell was there. "Jason, I need you to take— oh, no. No, no. No way. No way. Take that off."

"My friends are in there," Darrell said.

"You know what? Everybody in that lobby has somebody out here who's terrified for them," D.A. Saunders replied. "They're not donning SWAT gear and storming the hotel, ok, and neither are you. Jason, take your friend downtown, and arrest him with the obstruction of justice."

"Don't even think about it," Darrell told his friend.

"Rodriguez," Jason called to the other officer. Officer Rodriguez came over with a pair of handcuffs.

"I can't believe this," Darrell said.

"You have the right to remain silent," Officer Rodriguez recited. "Anything you say can and will be held against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be provided for you." With that, Darrell was led off the scene in handcuffs.

Meanwhile, a young cadet on the police force was standing slightly in front of the line, looking around cautiously to see if anyone was watching him. When it was all clear, he ran forward toward the hotel.

"Griffen!" D.A. Saunders called and the SWAT team poised their guns. "No, hold your fire! This might be the opening we need."

---

Hazel looked behind her to make sure no one was there and then turned to Lou, "Where did they take you?"

"To an office down the hall," Lou answered.

"Passed the boutique?" Hazel questioned.

"Yeah," Lou nodded.

"Were there any guards there?" Hazel questioned again.

"I don't know, why?" Lou asked her.

"Because the boutique manager left her phone with me at the front desk this morning, and I went to bring it back and she was already gone," Hazel explained.

"Where is it now?" Lou asked.

"It's in the top drawer," Hazel said. "Look, if one of us could go there, I'm sure–"

"No, don't– don't even think of it," Lou told her. "If they catch you making a phone call, they're going to kill you."

"No, are you kidding me?" Hazel protested. "I'm not going to wait here, waiting to get killed."

"There seems to be a lot of chatter coming from this side of the room," One said coming towards the two of them. "I think a time-out is in order. Come here, you."

One grabbed Hazel by the arm, but as soon as he did so, Hazel pulled the mask off his face before he could stop her. Sam stared in shock, knowing all too well who it was.

"You really, really shouldn't have done that," One responded, his gun pointed at her.

**A/N:** Wow, this is my longest chapter by far. I hope this makes up for the almost long wait. Look for an update once a week, I want to try and update more than once a week, so I'll see what happens. Anyway, send a review if you liked it and want more.


	6. 9 Hours Earlier

**Chapter Five**

9 hours earlier– 8pm

One grabbed a hold of Hazel, who looked around, frighteningly, at the others, and pulled her closer. He pointed the gun to her. "Now, you've just complicated things for me," One said to her. "Let me return the favor. Five, bring the bag."

"I knew I recognized his voice," Sam said to Jen. It was who she had feared, Flick, a man who despised her and her friends deeply. Last Sam had heard, he had been arrested. So, what was he doing here?

Five brought the bag over to One, who still held Hazel with his gun still pointed at her. He opened it, took out a pair of black coveralls and hand them to One. One took them and tossed them to Hazel.

"What is this for?" Hazel asked as she caught the clothing.

"It's a fashion statement, put it on," One instructed her.

"Hazel," Ty said getting up from his seat. As he did so, all the gunmen pointed their guns at him and Hazel. Hazel looked back at him. "You put that on, the police could kill you."

Hazel turned back to face Flick. "And if you don't, I will kill you," he told her.

"Okay," Hazel opening up the coveralls. "You want the cops to think I'm one of you."

"Think of it as poetic justice," Flick said and put his gun back in its' holder. "I can't wait to see you in a jumpsuit, darling." With that, he walked away from her. Hazel stood where he left her, right now more frightened then she was before.

---

"Don't shoot!" Cadet Griffen Taylor shouted to the lobby as he ran to it, his arms up. "Don't shoot, I'm unarmed!"

Inside the lobby, Flick turned towards the doors at the sound of voice just outside.

"Listen to me," Griffen continued. "I have some medical training, I can save the woman who's been shot!"

Everybody looked towards the lobby doors and at Flick, to see what he was going to do. Meanwhile, Griffen waited for an answer. Then the man stationed at the door, who has his gun pointed toward the door, turned to Flick.

"He's unarmed," he informed his boss.

"Just listen to me," Griffen said. "You have my word, no tricks, no games. I just want to help the injured woman." He turned to look at the police, who had their guns poised. Griffen turned back to the doors and banged on them. "Just let her go, take me instead!"

"My name is Griffen Taylor, I used to be a paramedic," Griffen said more calmly. In the lobby, Hazel was being pushed by one of the men down next Lou. "The woman who's been shot doesn't have a lot of time, she needs help."

"But I can't let you in," Flick replied. "So, it seems we're at an impasse."

"Then take me instead," Griffen bargained. "I'll do whatever you ask, just, please, let her get some help."

"Aw, this is so incredibly sweet," Flick said to the others in the lobby. "A doctor offering his life for a patient?" Then he spoke to Griffen outside. "But you see, I like the hostages that I have, I really do."

Again, Griffen looked back at the police and then back at the door, "Then let me in, at least I can help her."

Flick turned to look at Soraya, "Well, it's true. She really could use your help and it's tempting to accept your sacrifice you're offering to make. But you see, we've done a bang-up job here– no pun intended– to knock the place down, so I'm afraid you're going to have to leave now." 

"No, no, I'm not leaving my wife," Griffen said.

"Griffen, I'm fine," Hazel spoke up, standing up. "Just go."

"If you don't, I'll kill her now and end this discussion, thank you," Flick replied walking away. Griffen looked at the doors, frustrated.

"No, no," Sam said standing up. "If you won't let Griffen in, them let him tell us how to save her."

"Now, that might be interesting," Flick remarked. He walked towards her. "If I agree, would you be willing to perform the surgery?"

"This is going to be so much fun," Flick said walking toward the doors. As Hazel was zipping up the coveralls that were given to her. One of the men picked up a mask to give her, but Two stopped him.

"Don't give her a mask, it'll be too easy for her to blend in," she told him.

"Yeah, but he said–" the man protested.

"It's not worth the risk," Two said.

"Listen to me," Griffen said still at his place outside the door. "If I can't examine the patient, I have no way of knowing the extent of her injuries. Until I do, I can't talk someone through a surgery."

"Well, that's what makes life so interesting," Flick replied. "The thrill of the unexpected, the ability to take fate's little lemons and make lemonade. So, what do you say? Where's your sense of adventure?"

Griffen thought about it for a moment. "Fine," he said giving in. "Okay, I'll play. Tell me the rules."

"Go back to command central and wait for my phone call," Flick instructed. "While you're waiting, I want you to relay a message, the next time someone approaches this door, a hostage will die and that could very well be your beloved wife, do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, okay," Griffen agreed. "No one comes near the door."

"Good lad," Flick told him. "You'd better hurry. You don't want to miss my phone call." Griffen turned away and ran back to the police. Flick turned back to his hostages.

"Now, we'll see if the love-struck doctor can save his patient," Flick said walking over to the couch where Soraya was lying and then spoke directly to Sam. "And you get to be his eyes and hands."

"I'm not a doctor," Sam muttered.

"Which only raises the stakes and makes it that more interesting," Flick responded. "Who do you want to assist you?"

"Amy and Matt," Sam answered him, looking him straight in the eye.

"Pick _one_," Flick told her.

---

"I remember, when we first met," Amy was saying to Scott. "Our regular vet couldn't make it and mom was just relieved to have somebody there, even if it was your first emergency case."

Scott laughed, "I recall, you didn't make it that easy for me being only eight years old at the time,"

Amy smiled, "I was scared and confused, I always thought my mom could do everything and never needed help from anyone."

They grew silent as they both remembered Marion.

"She was an incredible woman, your mother was," Scott broke the silence.

"Yes, she was," Amy agreed whisperingly.

"You're so much like her, Amy," Scott told her.

Amy only nodded, not trusting herself to speak, in case the tears that were building up in her eyes spilled over. Suddenly, the door to the room opened and Flick walked in.

"It turns out that Soraya does need surgery," Amy got up from the couch. "An assertive young man named Griffen Taylor is going to talk Sweet Sam through the procedure. But she needs a new assistant and she's requesting you Dr. Amy." He pointed his gun at her.

"My brother-in-law has a concussion, we need to get him to a hospital," Amy told him. 

"Amy, Amy," Amy turned to face Scott. "I'm fine, go take care of Soraya. She needs your help. You can do it, Amy. Go."

Amy looked at him, not sure if she should leave him alone as Flick started to pull her to the door.

---

"You shouldn't have done that," a detective told Griffen when he ran back to the others. "I'm going to have to bring you in."

"It's alright, Rodriguez relax," D.A. Saunders said strolling up to the two. "What? What is it?"

"I made a deal with the ringleader," Griffen replied. 

"What kind of deal?" Michael Saunders asked.

"He's going to give me a chance to save the gunshot victim's life," Griffen answered. "He said if anybody comes close to the lobby doors, he's going to kill a hostage."

"Okay, he could be bluffing," Michael said.

"He's not bluffing," Griffen told him. "Look, he's very calm, almost amused. He said he'd give me a chance to talk someone through the procedure because it would be 'interesting'."

"Do have any idea as to why he's doing this?" Michael asked him.

"I don't know," Griffen answered. "He didn't say anything like that. Look, in a minute, the phone's going to ring, and I'm going to have a chance to talk someone through a surgery that could save someone's life."

"Okay, while you're trying to help, try to find out as much information about the situation in there," Michael told him.

---

"No, Scott shouldn't be left alone!" Amy was saying as Flick dragged her back into the lobby.

"Shut up," Flick told her pushing her to the couch where Soraya lay. "No problem. You, Jen– you get to stay with Scott while Amy stays with Soraya."

"No. No, I– I think you want somebody else to go," Jen said.

"What's the matter?" Flick asked her. "You have something against Amy's brother-in-law? You want to share it with us?"

"If he is sick, I can't help him," Jen replied. "I can't do anything."

"Well, Scott's a vet, no doubt he can advise you," Flick responded. "Two, take her."

Two grabbed Jen by the arm and took her from the room. Amy kneeled down beside Sam to take a look at Soraya. "Okay, she– she's losing a lot of blood," she said. Flick picked up the phone, dialed and waited for somebody to pick up.

"Let me talk to the surgeon," he said once someone picked up.

"It's him," Michael said handing the phone over to Griffen.

"This is Dr. Taylor," Griffen answered the phone.

"Well, aren't you the speedy one," Flick commented.

"Look, I did what you asked, Mr.– I don't know what to call you," Griffen said.

"Don't worry about me," Flick told him. "The only people in your world right now are Sweet Sam, Amy, and poor, pale Soraya. You may coach them through the surgery, but you can only use whatever supplies we have left in the hotel."

"No, we– we need a sterile environment! We–" Amy said, overhearing what he was saying on the phone.

"Ah, the art of improvisation," Flick said to her.

"Why are you doing this?" Griffen asked his anger rising.

"Because I can, and you having a melt down won't help your patient," Flick answered.

"Let me talk to Amy," Griffen said.

"Amy–" Flick said handing the phone to Amy. "Don't do anything stupid."

Amy looked at it for a second and then hesitantly took the phone, "Okay. I'm here."

"Okay, Amy," Griffen said, trying to control his emotions. "Just– just describe to me the wound."

Amy looked down at Soraya before answering, "The bullet entered Soraya's abdomen from the left side. I'm unable to determine the trajectory, but she's losing a lot of blood."

"Ok, is the wound– is her abdomen distended, or is it soft?" Griffen asked.

"It's a little distended," Amy informed him.

"Ok, she's bleeding internally," Griffen told her. "She could exsanguinate if we don't open her up. You know– she's going to bleed to death."

"No, the– I know what that means, ok? I just–" Amy stated. "I have to figure out a way to fix it using what we have here."

"Amy, listen to me. I need you to take a deep breath," Griffen said, trying to calm her down. "Ok. I'm going to give you a list of supplies."

"Okay, I need a paper and a pen, they're over there," Amy told Sam pointing to the front desk. After making sure that Amy had pressure on the wound, Sam looked up at Flick.

"Can I go to the desk and get a paper and pen?" she asked him.

"Hmm, I'm feeling indulgent. Go." Flick obliged. Sam got up slowly and made her way to the front desk, while have a gun following her, along with everybody else with their eyes. She got the paper and pen and made her way back to Amy.

"I got it, I got it," Sam said placing a hand over the wound and handed the stuff to Amy. "Here."

"Okay, go ahead," Amy said into the phone once she had the pen and pad ready.

"Ok, now, we need clean towels, bleached, preferably," Griffen started rattling off supplies. "We need sponges that are still in the wrapper if you can. We need a paring knife, we need needle and thread–"

---

Two pushed a reluctant Jen into the room with Scott and closed the door. Jen tried to get to it before the door closed, but failed. She leaned against the door for a minute and tried to open the door. It was locked. She turned to look at Scott.

"Matt should be here, not me," Jen said. "I don't know how to help you."

Scott moved to a sitting position on the couch, "Even if you were a doctor, there wouldn't be very much you could do."

"How's everybody out there? How's Soraya?" Scott asked her.

"Soraya is getting weaker," Jen answered. "And a doctor outside has gone all heroic and he says he can save her and they're letting him tell Amy over the phone how to operate."

---

"He's going to call us back when they have all the supplies," Griffen explained to Michael.

"Okay, you need to get as much information out of this guy as possible," Michael told Griffen.

"I need to try and save the patient's life," Griffen went off on him.

"Alright, ok," Michael calmed. "Obviously, that's your priority right now, but what I need from you is I need for you to set up some sort of a signaling system, some sort of code with Amy and Sam so that maybe – have them take the patient's pulse every now and then or something, something so that we can ascertain how many hostages there are, how many men are holding them –"

"Do you think this guy is an idiot?" Griffen questioned the D.A. "He's going to be listening to the phone calls. He already shot one. Who know who else he threatened?"

"Ok, ok, there are other lives at stake here, ok?" Michael said. "Obviously, what we need to do is get as much information as we can so that we can save all of the hostages."

"Or we kill everyone," Griffen commented.

"Alright, you need to take a step back and think as a doctor, remove yourself personally from this," Michael told him. "You have an obligation, I have an obligation to get all of those people out here safe."

"I don't have to tell you this guy is an idiot," Griffen argued. "He's focused and emotionally detached. He's knows you're going to try to pull something on him and I won't risk it!"

---

Amy stood up and addressed Flick. "I'd like to start gathering the list of supplies,"

"Oh, I'm sure you would, but I say – " Flick said, holding the list, and turning around to walk around the room of hostages. "I say we should share the joy. We need to fight the boredom before the hotel vault opens, so who wants to play?" Flick looked around the room, no one said anything. "I see Ty is your special guy, right? Right? As I thought." He started to walk over to Ty. "Ty gets to go on the scavenger hunt and with you two guards ready to shoot you if you do anything foolish."

"I don't know where to find those things," Ty admitted.

"I can show you," the hotel owner spoke up, standing up. Flick turned to look at him and pointed his gun at him.

"You shut up and sit down," Flick commanded him. "Of course, you need a staff member. How about I pick Hazel?" He stood behind her, who looked around at him."You always seem so eager to help. You have ten minutes. Come back with every item on the list or you will be penalized. Let's see – what kind of penalty? How about a bullet in the head?" He pointed the gun at Ty.

"You are crazy," Sam said from her spot by Soraya.

Flick looked at her and then spoke to the whole room, "Or we can forget about the surgery, and Ty and Hazel can watch Soraya die."

"Alright, alright," Ty said standing up.

"Your choice," Flick finished.

"Alright, I'll do it. Give me the list," Ty replied. Flick handed over the list to him and a man went over to get Hazel, who was standing up. They pulled over to where another was leading Ty out of the room. Flick looked back at Sam, who stared back at him, anger evident in her eyes.

---

Flick sat in a chair, boots up on the table in front of him, reloading the gun and whistling the annoying tune of bah, bah, black sheep.

"Tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick –"

"Alright, alright, we got it," Ty said as he and Hazel came back in the lobby, followed by the two guards, carrying the supplies.

"Ah," Flick as he got up and took the list from Ty. "Slow down, we need to see the complete list. Put the stuff there, thank you." He pointed to the chair, he just vacated. The two did as they were told as Flick began checking the supplies off one by one. "We have clean sheets, towels, sponges, robber gloves, safety goggles, and my personal favorite, duct tape, and – hold on. Where's the monofilament line?"

Hazel and Ty started looking around as Flick continued, "Ah. And you only have 10 seconds left," Ty stayed where he was, Hazel however moved off to a different part of the room, seeming like she found something. "Nine, eight, seven, six," Hazel took down a poster and brought back taking some lines off of it. "Five, four, three, two," She put the string down in the pile. "One— wow. Wow. I'm impressed. For the moment, Ty lives. See how fast she jumped to get– to get your man?" He addressed this to Amy. "I mean, I think there's more here than meets the eye, don't you think, Amy?"

"I just don't want to see a good man die, that's all," Hazel told him.

Flick walked over to Hazel, "Well, you don't strike me as being the altruistic type. Give them the supplies, thank you."

Ty and Hazel picked up the supplies and brought them over to Amy and Sam, while Flick picked up the phone and dialed.

"Get the doctor on," Flick said once somebody picked up on the other line.

"Griffen?" Michael called and handed the phone over to him.

Griffen took the phone, took a deep breath, and said, "I'm here,"

"Let's get the party started," Flick replied and handed the phone to Amy. "If you say anything that doesn't relate to the surgery, pow-pow."

"Okay," Amy took the phone. "Griffen, we're ready."

"Ok, Amy, just take a deep breath," Griffen instructed. "Now, this is just like med school, only with a real person and none of the right equipment."

"We got everything you said," Amy told him. "Sam's laying out the instruments right now. We moved Soraya onto the sheet. Her pulse is weak, but steady, but her abdomen is firmer than before."

Griffen closed his eyes, sighing a little, "Ok, then we need to get started. Ok. You need to trace the path of the bullet through Soraya's abdomen with your finger." Amy did what he said, asked Sam to move the phone to her other ear and hold it there, so that Amy could work with two hands.

---

"I feel the bullet's path," Amy said into the phone.

"Okay, good," Griffen replied. "Now, first, you need to swab the site and sterilize the paring knife."

"Where's the alcohol?" Amy asked Sam, holding the paring knife.

"It's right here," Sam answered picking up the alcohol with her free hand and handing it to Amy. Amy took it and poured the alcohol onto the knife.

"Alright, done," Amy said to Griffen.

"Ok, good, good," Griffen replied. "Now, you're going to make a four-inch incision directly over the path."

"Be ready with the towels. There's going to be a lot of blood," Amy instructed Sam, who picked up the towels. "Alright, I'm in," Amy said once she had made the incision.

"Good, Amy," Griffen responded. "Now, make sure you cut from the top to the bottom. Use the sponges to put direct pressure over the bleeder. Using the curling iron to cauterize it. Now, as soon as you've made the incision, we need to find out where all the bleeding is coming from."

It was quiet for awhile as Amy worked, until. "Oh my god," Amy and Sam breathed and panic arose in their voices. "Ok, we got to stop it," Amy said.

"Amy— Amy, what's happening?" Griffen asked frantically.

"Griffen, the bullet hit an artery!" Amy exclaimed.

"Ok, Amy, you need to tie off the artery," Griffen explained. "Use a monofilament line. Tie it off with the monofilament line!"

"You have to do something," Sam said. The phone dropped to the floor.

"I need towels or tweezers or she's going to die!" Amy yelled at Flick.

"You got to stop this," Sam replied.

"Amy, what's happening!" Griffen could be heard from where the phone had dropped to the floor.

**A/N: **Sorry for the long wait, I really didn't intend for you to wait that long. Please forgive me. I hope you enjoyed that chapter and if you did, Review.


	7. 8 Hours Earlier

**Chapter Six**

8 hours earlier– 9pm

"Let go of me, you..." Jen cried as a man dragged her down a hall and shoved her into a darkened room. She tried to escape, but he pulled the door closed before she had the chance. She banged against the door, "Oh, please!" She collapsed against the door in tears.

After about a minute, Jen switched the lights on and turned around. She stopped at what she saw. Jake sat in a chair, hands behind his back, and a bruise on the side of his face. Jen started towards him.

"Why did they do that to you?" she asked him.

Jake took a deep breath and then said, "He wanted to stop me from leading a hostage revolt."

"He just hates that you're not scared of him," Jen commented. "He's just a...he's a total psychopath."

"Which is why you have to be very careful," Jake told her.

Jen nodded slightly, "He's going to kill us all, isn't he?"

"We need to stop the bleeding,"

Sam picked up the phone she dropped as Amy desperately tried to get the bleeding under control, "Griffen," she said. "There's blood everywhere,"

"Ok, it's coming from the artery," Griffen instructed them calmly. "You need to clamp it off."

"How? We can't even see," Sam replied, both woman were doing the best they could under the circumstances. At that point, Matt stood up from where he was sitting.

"Stay where you are," Flick commanded as he and Two pointed their guns at him.

"They need help," Matt said.

Flick walked towards him, "I can understand you'd be willing to risk your life to save Soraya, but to risk your fellow hostages? What kind of a doctor are you?"

"What can I do for you?" Jen asked as Jake sat up in the chair, trying to find a more comfortable position considering the handcuffs that were put on his hands.

"I'm thirsty, can you get me some water?" Jake answered, leaning back in the chair.

"Yeah, um, of course," Jen walked away in search of some water. When she turned her back, she heard Jake groan. "Did you...did you try to escape?"

"Worse," Jake said. "I told him that he was losing control of the situation. He didn't like that very much."

Jen continued her search for the water, while she listened to him. "He's randomly picking people out just to terrorize then and the way he shot Soraya was just—"

"He's waiting for the vault to open," Jake interrupted her. "In the meantime, he's got nothing else to do, but threaten the police and amuse himself by messing with the hostages. Do not antagonize the man more than you already have." Jen walked back over to him, empty-handed. "Don't draw his attention, just keep calm."

Jen sat down on the arm of the couch opposite Jake. "I can't help it, when I'm scared, I don't think. It's a pregnancy thing."

"Don't show it," Jake told her. "You got to stay calm, you got to stay smart, you got to look for a way out of here, ok?"

"Yeah," Jen sniffed.

"If you have a big reaction, you're giving that psycho what he wants," Jake warned.

"You need to ligate it with the fishing line," Griffen instructed from over the phone. "Sam, hold the artery closed. Amy, you got to tie off the bleed, but make sure you don't make another tear in the artery."

"He...he said tie off the bleed?" Amy asked.

"Yes, just...just like suturing class," Griffen answered. "Tie the knot the exact same way. Sam, you got to make sure you hold on to that artery. Keep it closed."

Amy sighed, "I need more suction," Sam reached for some sponges. Two looked at the two doing the surgery and then turned their attention back to Matt.

"I'm a doctor, I can help," Matt told Flick.

"No," Flick said. "It's more entertaining this way."

"She's going to die," Matt persisted.

Just then, Ty stood up with Hazel half a second behind him. "Just let...just let one of us help her," Ty said. Amy looked up at the sound of his voice.

"Hmm, I'll keep that in mind," Flick replied.

"Please?" Hazel put in.

At that, the hotel owner stood up. "You, too," Flick said looking at him, laughing. Lou stood up too. "Oh, wow, a room full of heros." He looked around the room. "Anyone else want to volunteer to get shot? Any takers? Hmm?"

"You're going to have to shoot one of us, because we're not just going to stand around and watch Soraya die. Let us help her," Ty replied.

"Now, would be a very good time for you to help," Sam spoke up.

Matt looked at Flick. "I'll allow it, for a price to be named later," Flick said.

"Fine," Sam glared at him. Matt hurried over to the two of them.

"And the rest of you, sit down," Flick commanded the rest of the room. "There'll be more than enough time for empty gestures of bravery as the night wears on. Sit." Everybody slowly sat back down.

"Ok, hold it open," Matt said. "I can't see what I'm doing. No, I can't see–"

"Right there, to your right, down," Amy showed him.

"Ok," Matt said.

"Good," Amy replied.

"Dab it, I can't–" Matt told her.

"Here. Give me the sponge," Amy said. "There."

"Alright, I got it. I got it," Matt replied.

"Matt is sewing the artery," Sam told Griffen over the phone. "What next?"

"Ok, try and keep the field clean so you can see what you are doing," Griffen reminded them.

"Can you guys see?" Sam asked Matt and Amy.

"Barely," Matt answered. "Give me another sponge."

Sam handed him a sponge.

"I think we're all right," Amy pointed out. "The bleeding has stopped."

"Ok, Amy's sewn the main bleed," Sam told Griffen.

"Ok, good, good, good," Griffen said, relieved. "Now, just look around, see if there's any other damage. Check the organs, see if there's any bleeding or any other tears."

"He wants you to look under all the other organs, make sure there's no other bleeding," Sam relayed the message.

"I think we're okay," Amy reported.

"Amy and Matt finished the procedure," Griffen told the police standing behind him. "Soraya's still alive."

"Thank god," Commissioner Jones breathed.

"Alright, start wrapping it up," Flick told the group. Sam looked up at him, a glare on her face.

"Now, all we've got to do is close up," Amy said.

"Ok," Matt replied.

"Time's up," Flick said striding over to the group. Griffen just called Sam over the phone, when Flick grabbed the phone from her and hung up. He tossed it onto the table behind the couch and pointed the gun at Matt and Amy. "You're done, back off," Both looked up at him.

"No, we're not finished, we've got to close up," Amy told him.

Flick moved over to the front of the couch. "It's time for me to collect on the bargain I made with Sweet Sam," Sam stared at him, wondering what he was going to do.

"Is Sam okay?" Jake asked.

Jen sniffed, "Yeah, she seems to be."

"You need to tell me the truth," Jake said, seeing right through her.

Jen sighed, "Sam got mad and said that Soraya needed a doctor." Jake shifted uncomfortably in the chair, but encouraged her to go on. "And One said that she was the one to save Soraya and that she could only pick another person, one other person to help and she said that she wasn't a doctor so she can't–"

"She will do everything she can to save Soraya's life," Jake said.

"I'm sure she'll try, but Sam was trying not to freak out when I left," Jen replied.

"She's at her best when her back's against the wall," Jake told her. "You two have that in common."

"I wish I had her confidence," Jen sighed, standing up awkwardly and starting to walk around a bit.

"There's a thin line between confidence and reckless," Jake commented. "Sometimes, Sam just jumps in without thinking."

Jen chuckled and said, "Yeah, I can relate to that."

Silence filled the air.

"She's been through a lot in her life, you know?" Jake broke the silence. "But the one thing I do know about Sam is she's strong and she never quits on the people she cares about."

"You go to Ty," Flick told Amy pointing the gun to her, then turned to Matt. "You go with her," He got to Sam. "And Sam's going to finish on her own." He had a smirk on his face as he said the last part.

"This is crazy, I don't have any training," Sam said, looking up at him.

"Then she'll die," Flick responded, his gun pointed directly at her. "It will be a pity after all the trouble everybody has gone through. But, you know, it's your decision, not mine."

"Why are you doing this?" Sam questioned. "You let them get this far, let them finish."

"Well, you see, I have a short attention span and we have hours to go and this passes time," Flick explained. "So, if you don't want to continue playing Florence Nightingale, that's fine by me. I have plenty of hostages left, and Soraya has more than served her purpose."

At that, Amy looked up from what she was doing. "I can close up, I just need a few more minutes," she said.

"It's Sam or nobody," Flick said, stricter this time. He lifted the gun back towards Sam. "You're doing this alone, darling." His glance moved to Amy and Matt as he continued talking. "And the first person who calls out advice or encouragement gets a bullet in the head." He started to move off, until Sam called back to him.

"You only want me to do this because you think it's going to be fun watching me mess up," Flick turned slowly around to face her.

"Well, you may surprise me," Flick said. "For Soraya's sake, I hope you do."

"You don't think I can do this," Sam challenged. "Watch me."

D.A. Saunders approached Griffen. "Did you hear any of the other hostages in the background?" he asked him.

"No, I was a little busy coaching Amy through a procedure that was far beyond her ability," Griffen answered, annoyance clearly evident in his voice.

"I understand, Dr. Taylor," Mike said. "But there are other people in there. I need to know the conditions–"

"Yeah, well, you know what, Mike?" Griffen interrupted. "There was only one that was shot and seriously wounded."

"There may be other people in there who are injured, all right?" Mike argued with him.

"Look, I have an obligation to save Soraya's life," Griffen replied, equally as angry. "That's the only thing I was thinking about."

"Is Soraya going to make it?" Commissioner Jones asked, after overhearing the conversation between the two.

"Amy said that she was able to tie off the artery," Griffen told him, in a much calmer tone. "If that holds and she stops bleeding, she should be ok."

Sam was closing up the wound with a scowl on her face the whole time. Everybody watched silently and tensely as Sam finished up. Suddenly, Sam pricked herself with the needle and almost dropped it. Doing so, made Amy get up from her spot next to Matt.

"Amy don't," Ty told her and Matt put a hand on her arm. Flick turned to look at her, pointing his gun at her at the same time.

"I hate this, I hate this, I..." Sam started muttering to herself. Flick turned back to watch, a slight smirk on his face. Sam looked up at him. "Do you want me to bandage her up too?"

"Well, you held your side of the bargain," Flick said and pointed, with his gun, at Matt. "You," He turned behind him and grabbed Hazel up. "And you, put some bandages on." He walked over to Soraya and Sam with Hazel and Matt being pushed after him. "Time to get your reward." He said to Sam.

"What are you talking about?" Sam asked him.

"You'll see," Flick answered as he walked up to her and pulled her up.

"I can help with Soraya," Amy volunteered as Flick started to lead Sam away.

"No," Flick said as he kept steering Sam away from the lobby. "No one but those two. You stay where you are."

Hazel walked over to where Matt was already with Soraya. She stood for a moment, before slowly kneeling down beside him.

"Her pulse is getting stronger," Matt said and started putting rubber gloves on. "Wow, Sam did a good job."

Hazel tapped Matt, "What do we do?" she asked him.

"We got to get duct tape," Matt answered as he finished putting the rubber gloves on.

"Duct tape?" Hazel questioned.

"Her stomach has to stay closed and..." Matt explained as he started getting to work. "...it's all we've got." He went to move away a sheet, but stopped when something caught his eye. The knife.

"I promised you a reward," Flick said as he pulled Sam down a hall. He stopped in front of a door. "Here it is."

"Get. Off. Me." Sam said as she fought to get out his grasp. Flick kept a strong hold on her as he pulled open the door.

"Come, get in there," Flick replied pushing her into the room. "Time with the boyfriend."

Sam stopped in shock when she saw Jake sitting in the chair with a bruise on the side of his face. "Are you okay?" It came out as a whisper.

"Yeah, I'm okay," Jake winced.

"You can't work up more enthusiasm than that?" Flick commented. "I was hoping to find significantly more entertainment value with this reunion. Oh, well, life is full of bitter disappointments." He turned towards Jen and walked over to her."Let's give them some privacy, darling, come on." He grabbed her arm and started pulling her to the door.

"Where are you taking me?" Jen asked frantically.

"Back to the lobby, unless you have a better idea," Flick answered. Sam watched him push Jen out of the door and then close it behind him. She looked back towards Jake and walked towards him.

"Are you hurt?" she asked him.

"I was just —"

"Are you ok?" she interrupted.

"Yeah, I'm just banged up," Jake answered. "My rib's a little sore, nothing serious."

Jake winced and leaned forward a little bit. "Let me see," Sam said hurrying closer to him, to look behind him. She saw the handcuffs.

"Oh, god, Jake, they're handcuffs," Sam sighed. "I mean, if it was rope, I could do something, but I can't do anything with handcuffs."

"It's okay," Jake assured her, leaning back in the chair.

Sam turned to face him. "No, it's not okay! It's not okay!" she told him. "I can't do anything to save you with handcuffs any more than I can clamp an artery! It was awful...Soraya's blood was everywhere. It was — it was so out of control, and if anything happens to her, everyone's going to blame me if she dies."

"Sam," Jake said softly and Sam sat down on the arm of the couch opposite him. "You need to really take it easy – listen to me, ok? You did good. I'm proud of you."

Ty watched as Matt and Hazel attended to Soraya and then looked to Amy, who was also watching, worriedly. "You saved her," he whispered to her.

Without looking at him, Amy said, "I couldn't have done it without Sam and Matt."

"Let's wrap this stuff in one of these sheets," Matt said piling the stuff into a pile next to the couch. Hazel moved to help him wrap the stuff up, but stopped when she saw him holding the knife. Hazel looked at him and Matt looked back. Discreetly, Hazel took the knife from his hand.

"Can I throw away these used supplies?" Matt asked the men.

"I'll do it," Hazel volunteered.

"Go ahead," one of the men told them. Hazel picked up the big bundle, carefully as not to drop anything and moved off to discard it. Matt stood up, watching her, as he stripped off the rubber gloves. At that point, Flick came back to the lobby dragging Jen. They stopped and Flick pointed his gun at Matt and Hazel.

"I told you, to stay put," Flick said angered.

"I was just cleaning up," Hazel explained.

"So I see. Very efficient," Flick observed. Then he looked over to Jen, who stood next to him. "Care to explain why your little exertion has left you a little pale."

"Pregnant woman are supposed to rest, and if anything happens to that baby, I will —" Matt said, anger welling up.

"Matt, Matt, it's ok. I'm fine," she assured him.

"Just let Jen rest," Matt told Flick.

His gun still pointed, Flick continued, "Baby's breath stays where she is. As for the others, I think were ready for a round of musical hostages again, don't you think?" He looked around the room. "Matt, you go with Jen to tend to Soraya. Hazel, young Holly, and Lou.." He walked over to her and pulled her up. "..is going to spend some time in front of the entrance. Say if a sniper tries to hit one of my men, he may hit you instead."

Flick walked away from her and moved Amy next to Ty. He looked at Hazel, who still hadn't moved to where she was supposed to. She hesitated and then walked over to where Holly sat. She sat down next to her, moving the knife behind herself, making sure her hand covered it.

"How's Soraya?" Jake asked.

"She was still alive when they brought me here," Sam answered.

"You said something about stitching her up," Jake said.

"It was awful," Sam replied. "That son of a bitch made me do it by myself. No Matt and no Amy. It was just me and a needle and thread sewing human flesh and there was blood everywhere. And I just wanted to throw up and run across the room screaming." She put her head in her hands.

"Sam – Sam, you got through it," Jake said.

"Only because I know if I let Soraya die, everyone would say I did it on purpose," Sam told him.

"We're all going to make it out of this," Jake assured her. "You understand?"

Sam nodded slowly.

"Can you find a paper clip now?" Jake asked of her. "Get these handcuffs off me?"

Sam got up and walked towards the back of the room. "Yes, but you know me, I don't have the patience to sit there and try and figure out every minute detail." She opened a cabinet and looked in. Seeing nothing in there, she closed the doors and turned around exasperated. "They cleared everything out of here. I'll probably — I'll probably get so frustrated." Sam checked the cabinet again, rummaged through the contents and then the closed the door. Then something on top of the table caught her eye. She picked it up. "I got it. Alright, what do I do now?"

"Soraya looks so pale," Jen said as she and Matt watched over her. "She's barely breathing."

"She had an arterial bleed," Matt explained, trying to keep the emotion out of his voice. "She needs a transfusion and she's not going to get one." Blinking away tears that were threatening to come, Matt looked over at Jen. "You should rest."

"I'm okay," Jen said.

"I can take of her myself, I will let you know if something changes," Matt offered.

"I'm not that tired," Jen convinced.

"You need to take care of yourself and your baby," Matt told her.

"Don't let me sleep," Amy said to Ty, as tried to fight the urge to close her eyes. She was leaning slightly into him.

"You need to rest," Ty told her.

"No. Soraya's in critical condition," Amy said. "I have to stay awake in case she takes a turn for the worse."

"No, I'll wake you up if you're needed," Ty pressed. "You need to rest."

"You know, I keep asking myself if I should have taken more time with the procedure," Amy confessed.

"You did everything you could," Ty told her.

"What if it wasn't enough?" Amy questioned. Ty placed a hand on her cheek.

"No, no, don't doubt yourself," Ty told her. "You did everything you could. Soraya's going to make it. You were wonderful."

Amy didn't say anything.

Ty sighed internally and realized that he might not get another chance to do this. He reached into his jacket pocket. Amy watched him, her eyes burning with questions. Her eyes grew wide when she saw him pull out a small, velvet box. When he opened the box and she saw the small diamond ring inside, her eyes glazed over with tears.

"I wanted to give this to you after dinner, but now..." Ty cleared his throat. "Amy Fleming, will you marry me?"

"Wiggle the paperclip—"

"I am wiggling, Jake," Sam said as she tried free Jake from the handcuffs with the paperclip. It wasn't working. "This is just useless."

"Okay, it's right there," Jake instructed her. "Yeah, just keep going."

Sam struggled with the paperclip, she sighed. "Ok,"

"What?" Jake asked her.

Sam stood up, and then leaned back over to continue. "This is Darrell's fault. I have asked him so many times to show me how to pick a lock on handcuffs and he never would."

"Focus," Jake told her. "Just do it."

"I am focusing, ok? I'm trying," Sam said. "Why would they do this to you?"

"He wants the hostages panicked," Jake explained. "So, he felt like I was being the leader, so he wanted to take me out of the equation."

"That doesn't make any sense," Sam commented. "Why not kill you?"

"Because if his exit plan doesn't work, and something goes wrong, he needs me to get away," Jake said.

"Is that what he told you?" Sam asked.

"I don't need — it doesn't matter, because I know that guy," Jake answered. "I can read them all."

"Got it!" Sam said suddenly. She stood up, arms in the air. "Whoa! Oh my god." Jake rubbed his wrists from where the handcuffs were and stood up carefully from the chair. "How about that? I bet you good old number one didn't plan on you getting out of those handcuffs."

"His first mistake was underestimating you," Jake told her.

"What are we going to do now?" Sam asked him.

"We're going to wait till they come back," Jake answered. He began rubbing his wrists again.

"What do you mean, we're going to wait till they come back?" Sam questioned. "We need to sneak out of here and attack whoever's coming to get us."

"It's better to take advantage of what they don't know," Jake said walking past her. "I'm going to let them think I'm handcuffed."

"Jake, my way's faster," Sam protested.

"No, no, Sam, listen to me," Jake said as he sat back down in the chair. "You are not going to sneak up on them. And you got to promise me that when I tell you to go, you're going to go."

"I am not leaving you behind, do you hear me?" Sam told him, hands on hips.

"I can do this a lot better without having to worry about you," Jake reasoned.

"Listen to you," Sam argued. "You might need me, ok? I can break a lamp over their heads – you might need my help."

"Ok, sit down," Jake told her. "Sit down, I got to tell you something before things go down here," Sam sat down across from him with a sigh. "I was wrong about everything. I should never have gotten angry with you about some horse."

"Jake —"

"No, listen," Jake stopped her. "It's your life. You choose what you want — what you want to do...You're my whole life. You're my future wife, you're my partner, you're the mother of my child. And I love you, and I always will."

Flick walked up to where Ty and Amy sat. Amy was leaning her head on Ty's shoulder, asleep and Ty had his arm around her waist. He looked up when Flick stopped in front of him.

"Don't wake her," Flick told him. "She's earned her rest."

Ty watched him go and then looked down at Amy. He picked up her left hand and fingered the ring on her finger. A smile glazed his face and he first kissed it and then her forehead, before moving his other arm around, pulling her closer.

Meanwhile, Flick had walked up to Lou, who stood in front of the lobby doors. "And you, make a good target," he said. Lou just stared at him. "Very good." Flick turned away and walked toward Jen and Matt.

"How is she?" Flick asked them.

Matt looked up at him. "Her pulse is steady," he answered.

"Hmm," Flick nodded his head. "So, she's going to live."

"It's too soon to tell," Matt said.

Flick walked away without another word.

At that moment, Soraya stirred a little, "Matt?" Both Jen and Matt looked at her. Suddenly, Soraya shot up, screaming. Matt gently pushed her back down and held her down. Flick turned to look at the all the commotion.

"Hey, hey, it's ok," Matt soothed to her. "It's ok, Soraya,"

**A/N: **Well, there you have it. Ty finally proposed to Amy. Probably not what any of you had in mind, but... Well, review.


	8. 7 Hours Earlier

**Chapter Seven**

7 hours earlier—10pm

Darrell stood at the table in the Interrogation room of the Dalton Police Department, marker in hand, sketching a map of the hotel onto a piece of paper. He looked up when the door to the room opened. It was Ryan Slocum.

"It's about damn time," Darrell said tossing the marker onto the table as Ryan walked into the room.

"Is that anyway to talk to someone who could actually help you?" Ryan questioned, standing on the opposite side of the table, looking at Darrell.

"Come on, Ryan," Darrell replied. "I'm working against the clock here. Bail me out and let me get back to the hotel."

"I don't think so," Ryan said.

Darrell stared at him, "What do you mean, 'I don't think so'? Jen's life is on the line."

"Which is exactly why you are staying here," Ryan told him. Darrell continued to stare at him in disbelief.

/

One of the men walked through the lobby, gun aimed, checking on all the hostages, making sure that no one was planning anything. When he walked past the couch where Soraya, Matt, and Jen were Soraya started to speak.

"What happened?"

"You were shot," Matt told her stroking her hair as Soraya groaned from the pain.

"How?"

"Those creeps robbing the hotel made you an example," Matt said, trying to keep the anger at bay that was rising inside of him again. At that time, Soraya made to sit up a little, but Matt put his hand on her shoulder, keeping her down. "No, no, no–"

Soraya screamed from the pain.

"Lay down here, please?" Matt told her. "We don't know what...you could do to your sutures, ok?" Flick watched them from across the room.

"How bad is it?" Soraya asked, in between groans of pain.

Matt and Jen looked at each other for a moment before Matt answered, "The bullet hit an artery. If it wasn't for a doctor outside, you would've bled to death."

/

Griffen got up from a stoop he had been sitting on and hurried over to the district attorney, who had just walked within sight.

"Call again," Griffen told him, getting his attention.

"They're not picking up," Mike sighed.

"Then keep calling until they do," Griffen said.

"Look, I understand that you're concerned, but these things take time," Mike told the doctor, getting slightly annoyed with the doctor. He made to walk past him, but Griffen stopped him with his hand.

"Time is the one thing Soraya doesn't have," The stared at each other after Griffen said that and then Mike pushed past the other man and walked away. Meanwhile, Tim Fleming had just walked up and heard the exchange between the two.

/

"What's that?" Holly asked Hazel, she sat hugging her knees and looking at the knife that Hazel held behind her back. Hazel looked from Holly to the knife and back again, wishing she had thought before bringing a knife anywhere near a child.

"Um...it's.." Hazel licked her lips. "It's the knife they used on Soraya,"

"Why do you have it?" Holly asked her.

"Protection," Hazel answered without missing a beat. "In case, something happens."

"Are you gonna hurt them?" Holly questioned and Hazel just wished the little girl would stop asking questions.

"If they hurt me, yes," Hazel told her straight.

"Mommy, says knives are for bad people," Holly said looking up at her with wide, fearful blue eyes. "Don't be bad...be good."

Hazel looked down at the little girl, the same look of horror was in Holly's eyes that was in her heart. At that, Hazel's grip on the knife started to loosen. Just then, Flick walked over to the two of them.

"You two seem rather intense," He stood in front of them, gun aimed toward them. "Care to tell me what's going on?"

/

"Why does it feel like you're saying goodbye to me?" Sam asked as she moved to sit on the couch, not taking her eyes off of Jake.

"There hasn't been a day that goes by in my life I don't think—" Jake said. He paused for a second and Sam watched him, not wanting to know what he was thinking. "I love you." He reached for her hand and Sam took it.

"I love you too," Sam replied. "You're a part of me, you know you always will be." She leaned forward and their lips met in a sweet and passionate kiss.

/

"You're — you're going to have to move me because I can't sit next to a frightened child anymore," Hazel answered.

"And why is that?" Flick asked kneeling down in front her. "Do you not like children?"

"She is scared to death," Hazel said. "I don't know how to help her, but her mother does. Please let her help her."

Flick turned towards Holly, "Well, how scared are you?"

Holly looked up at him and then back down at her knees. "Very, very scared," she said. "I want my mama and my daddy."

"Awww," Flick replied. He got up and moved behind the little girl, kneeling down behind her and starting stroking her short, blonde curls. "Well, I'm sorry, your mommy and daddy are a bit busy right now." Behind him, Lou made a move toward her daughter, but one of the men stopped her. "But, maybe, I can help."

"Would you mind if I checked on Soraya?" Amy, who had just awakened, asked from her place next to Ty.

"Well, you can trade places with Jennifer," Flick told her, still stroking Holly's hair, who had gripped her legs harder. "She gets restless if she stays in one place for too long."

Amy looked at him and then at one of the men, who had started to walk over to her. He pulled her up by the arm and led her off to Jen, Matt, and Soraya. He let her go and pulled Jen up from where she was. Amy kneeled down next to Matt.

"Hi, you gave us quite a scare," Amy said to Soraya, while taking her pulse. "How are you feeling?"

"Oh, tight, like my stomach's being pulled," Soraya answered.

"It's probably just from the duct tape," Matt told her. "We had to use it to hold the stitches together."

"Did you get the bullet out?" Soraya asked.

Amy looked over at Matt. "No, but we did repair the artery," Matt answered.

"With a lot of help from Sam," Amy added, laughing slightly.

Soraya laughed a little too, "Sam?"

"Yeah," Amy said. "We couldn't have done it without her. Or Griffen, a doctor outside,"

"He's the real reason you're still alive," Matt replied.

/

Tim strode over to the Mike, determinedly. "Make him a deal," he told the district attorney. Mike sighed at the sight of another person telling him what to do. "Offer the ringleader a suspended sentence in exchange for Soraya."

"Listen, this guy doesn't want to make a deal, ok?" Mike told him. "If he did, then we would have been able to negotiate with him hours ago."

"Oh, so you're just going to stand here?" Tim retorted. "You're just going to stand here and let him dictate whether Soraya lives—"

"There are a dozen other hostages in there, I have to think about they're welfare as well!" Mike snapped. "We cannot make a move until he does!" With that, Mike walked past him and Tim watched him go.

/

"Let the police handle this," Ryan told Darrell.

"You don't understand," Darrell said. "I'm trying to save my friends, including your wife, now and you want me to sit here. Forget it, Ryan. Get out there and pay my bail! Otherwise, I have to waste a lot of time busting out of this place."

"Okay, I'll get you released," Ryan gave in.

"Good," Darrell replied, turning to look out the window, looking out to the rest of the police department.

"On one condition," Ryan said.

Darrell spun back around, "What?"

"You get Jennifer out of there first and unhurt," Ryan stated. "And back to me."

Darrell hesitated, not sure if he liked that last part of what he had just said. In the end, Darrell nodded slowly, "Fine,"

/

"How are you feeling now?" Flick asked Holly, still stroking her hair. "Still scared?"

"Yes," Holly squeaked, wincing at his touch. Hazel looked over at the little girl and immediately regretted what she had done. It was her fault, this man was touching an already scared little girl.

"Hmm," Flick responded, then he spoke to Hazel. "I'm afraid I'm going to have to deny your request to change partners. I think you might be able to benefit from this little girl." He stood up and kicked Holly in the back. She screamed in pain and Lou made another move to go after her, but once again was restrained. It also got everybody else's attention. "Fear gets you nowhere,"

Flick walked over to where Ty and now Jen sat, "You," he said pointing the gun at Ty. "On your feet, time to pitch in for the cause."

"Whose cause would that be?" Ty asked after he had stood up.

"Oh, you'll have to wait and see," Flick told him. He grabbed Ty's arm and started to take him away when Jen jumped up.

"Leave him alone," she said.

"It's ok, Jen," Ty soothed her. "It's ok."

"Why don't you forget about the briefcase and leave before someone kills you like you deserve," Jen dared.

"Will you sit down and shut up before I put a bullet through that pretty little head of yours," Flick threatened, his gun now pointed at her. Reluctantly, Jen sat back down. "Thank you, good girl." He took Ty's arm and pushed away. "C'mon," Jen watched as Ty was led from the lobby. Just then, Soraya gasped from the pain.

"Can we please give Soraya something for the pain?" Matt asked the men left in the room. Soraya was still groaning. "I don't know how much more of this she can take." Amy looked up at the men too, waiting for their answer.

/

"Where are you taking me?" Ty asked as Flick led him down a hall and then stopped in front of one of the doors.

"Your fiancé's brother-in-law has a concussion," Flick explained. "I thought you could help take his mind off of his head. Perhaps you can tell him what I've been doing to his daughter. Or maybe I shall just bring him Holly's lifeless body?"

In a flash, Ty grabbed Flick by his collar and shoved up against the opposite wall, the woman of the group turned the corner and rushed up, gun aimed. "Don't even say her name, you understand?" Ty told him.

"I would take a step back if I were you," Flick instructed, perfectly calm, his gun pointed at Ty. Slowly, Ty let go of the man and took a step back. "This is your last warning. Keep that temper under control, or there won't be anything left for Amy to stitch back together. Get in," He pushed Ty towards the door, who opened it. Flick shoved him the rest of the way in and shut the door. Ty looked at the closed door and then to Scott, who was lying on the couch.

"Scott?"

"How's Soraya?" Scott asked.

"Uh...Amy was able to repair the artery," Ty answered. "And stop the bleeding."

"With what?" Scott questioned.

"Just some items that we collected around the hotel," Ty told him. "Griffen Taylor talked her through the operation, Amy's with her now."

/

There was a noise from behind the door and Sam and Jake immediately broke apart, before Flick opened the door and peeked his head in, "Am I interrupting?" Sam looked at Jake, who had a glare fixated on Flick.

"So, you're ready to cut your losses and let us go?" Sam asked, a slight attitude in her voice.

"You look a bit flushed, enjoying your reward, I take it?" Flick commented, ignoring Sam and walking toward Jake.

"We'd enjoy it a lot more if he weren't handcuffed," Sam said.

"Well, you're a creative woman," Flick replied. "I'm sure you found a way to make it work, but you can demonstrate later. Right now, I need to discuss business with you boyfriend." Flick sat down in the chair opposite Jake and looked behind him to Sam.

"What kind of business?" Jake asked.

"How far are you willing to go to make sure your Samantha lives?"

/

Back in the lobby, Soraya was groaning more than ever and trying to sit up. While Amy was dabbing a towel to her sweating forehead, Matt was trying to calm her down.

"Soraya, hey..." Matt soothed. "Look at me, look at me, ok?

Soraya groaned even louder.

"I know it hurts, but you really need to lay still," Matt told her.

Soraya shook her head, "No, I can't," she whimpered.

"Yes, you can," Matt said.

"Just keep breathing," Amy said at the same time.

"I can't," Soraya cried.

"Light, even breaths," Amy told her. Soraya still looked unconvinced when she let out a scream of pain. One of the men walked up to them.

"Shut her up," he told them.

"How she needs morphine," Matt retorted.

"Does this look like a pharmacy to you?" the man questioned him.

Amy stood up, "Uh...no, there's a...a gift shop where...where there's medication," she said. "Can I please go get her some?"

Soraya groaned loudly again.

"Aspirin and a few antacids are not going to help her out," the man told her. "Sit down."

Just then, Jen stood up, "No, no, but alcohol will," she said pointing to a cart that held wines and other alcoholic beverages. She hesitated a little when all the men turned their guns to her. "There's...there's a bottle right over there, if you want her to be quiet, you need to get her drunk. Trust me, it will take the edge off."

The man looked at Amy and Matt trying to calm Soraya and then back at Jen. "Fine, make it quick," he told her.

Jen hurried over to the cart, grabbed a bottle of alcohol and hurried over to Matt and Amy. Matt took the bottle, just as Soraya let out another groan.

"Thanks," Matt said to Jen as he unscrewed the lid and Jen went back to where she had been sitting.

"She's lost a lot of blood, alcohol's going to dehydrate her," Amy pointed out.

"I'm being held together by duct tape," Soraya spoke up. "I think I should take my chances. Just help me—"

"Yes, okay," Matt said moving over as Amy moved so he could put the bottle to Soraya's lips. "Here you go."

"Ok?" Amy asked after Matt took the bottle away and Soraya gulped the alcohol down.

"How's the pain?" Matt asked.

"Uhh...I pretty much lost all feeling, so either the vodka's working or my body's shutting down," Soraya answered. "Listen, if I don't make it out of here, I need you to do something–"

"No, don't– don't talk like that," Matt interrupted her. "Nothing is going to happen to you."

"You're a doctor, you know that I can die from losing so much blood, ok?" Soraya told him.

"We are not going to let you die," Amy convinced.

"I don't want you to blame yourselves," Soraya said. "You've pulled off a miracle."

"Yeah, and those don't come around very often," Matt replied. "So, don't waste the time you have thinking about how this is all going to end."

"What are you going to do with that knife?" Holly asked Hazel, after seeing the older girl grasp the knife again. Hazel looked down at the little girl and saw that her cheeks were tear-stained, probably from when that maniac had kicked her.

"I don't know," Hazel answered truthfully. "But I'm not going to sit around and wait for them to kill us."

Holly's eyes grew wide as she said, "They're gonna kill us?"

"Not unless I can help it," Hazel immediately calmed the child. "No one's ever saved themselves by giving in to fear. You survive by fighting back, and that's exactly what I'm going to do."

/

"Leave her out of this," Jake said, staring up at Flick. "She didn't do anything to you, just let her go."

"Oh, but she has done everything to me," Flick sneered as he stood up and faced Sam. "Because of her, I have lost my job, been to prison. She keeps getting in my way, why shouldn't I just get her out of the way once and for all." He slowly raised his gun to Sam. Sam stared at him, trying not to show him that she was terrified.

"You don't have to do this," Jake stopped him. "You can still walk away with some dignity. You're a damn fool if you don't."

Flick turned to face him, "You think so," He walked slowly over to Jake.

"You're not hard to figure out," Jake said.

"Really?" Flick asked.

"No," Jake answered.

In a flash, Flick punched Jake on the bruise that was already on the side of his face. "Well, then that should've come as no surprise." He looked over at Sam when he said this.

Sam rushed over to Jake, "Jake—"

Flick stopped her with his gun inches from her chest. "I really hope our time together won't be cut short." he said. "After all, the fun's only just beginning, isn't it?"

Flick turned to look at Jake, his gun still on Sam, "You think you can read me?" he said. "Perhaps you can, we're not so different."

"You think so, Mr. One?" Jake questioned.

"Oh, we're both driven to pursue money and power, no matter what it takes," Flick explained, when he finished he looked back at Sam.

"You're nothing like Jake," Sam stated.

"Sam, don't say anything," Jake told her. "He doesn't know what he's doing."

"Jake's a good man, and he takes care of the people he loves," Sam continued, ignoring Jake. "All you have are hired henchmen and a gun. You're nothing compared to Jake."

Flick laughed a little, looking from Sam to Jake and back again. "Well, I've rarely seen such devotion in a girlfriend. Now, tell me, are you as fond of your girlfriend as she seems to be of you?" he asked Jake.

"I'll pay you to release her," Jake bargained. "You name the amount—"

"Jake—" Sam tried to stop him.

"I will transfer the money to your account the minute she walks out this building," Jake continued.

"Oh, come on," Flick said. "It wouldn't be fair to let you purchase your girlfriend's freedom and deny the others the opportunity. So, I'm afraid I'm going to have to decline your offer. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to check on my other hostages. Thank you." Flick smiled, started to walk away, but turned around to say, "Have fun," With that, Flick left the room with them in it.

Sam hurried over to Jake and kneeled down in front of him. "Are you hurt? Are you okay?" she asked him.

"Thanks for your devotion," Jake managed to say, wincing at the pain.

"Yeah, well, he had a gun on you," Sam said. "I would've said anything to stop him from shooting you."

"So, you didn't mean all those nice things you said about me," Jake teased.

"I meant them," Sam said seriously.

"I'm glad you still believe in me," Jake replied.

"Well, we're locked in a room with our lives on the line," Sam responded. "I can't be held accountable for anything I say here."

"We don't have time for games," Jake told her. "You know how you feel and so do I."

"I love you," Sam said. "Okay, I love you. But, Jake, I–" Just then, the door started to open and Sam jumped up into the chair opposite Jake after he told her to get back, he also straightened in his seat. A man walked in, gun drawn.

"Let's go," he said.

"Where?" Sam asked.

"For a walk," the man simply answered, his gun still drawn.

Sam looked back at Jake, stood up and started to make her way over to the man, when Jake pretended to moan.

"Ow, my wrists, oh— uh–"

The man walked over to Jake, then pointed his gun at Sam, "Move," he ordered her. Sam looked at Jake and then moved off. Then she fell, "Ow!"

"What's wrong?" the man asked.

When the man was distracted, Jake jumped from his chair and grabbed the gun. "Get up," he told Sam as he fought with the man. Finally, the man fell to the floor.

Jake winced and braced himself against the arm of a chair and then reached a hand out toward Sam, "Give me that gun," Sam handed over the gun she had taken from the man before he fell. Jake backed towards the door, gun pointed at the man lying on the floor.

"Make sure no one's coming," Sam told him.

Jake reached the door and looked out, several times. No one was there. He turned and walked back to where Sam was standing. They both looked down at the man and then Jake said to her.

"You did great,"

Sam looked at him, "So did you,"

/

"We spotted movement out the south side of the service entrance," the captain of the SWAT team informed the district attorney, who lowered their binoculars after looking at the hotel.

Meanwhile, Darrell had just reached the service entrance. He was dressed all in black, to make it easier to blend in with the hostage takers. Darrell checked his watch, he had thirty seconds till the locks reset, in which he could slip through the door before he was locked out again. He released the breath he had been holding, he would only have fifteen seconds to get inside the building or he would be locked out.

"I have a team in place, we are ready to move in and intercept at any time," the captain was saying.

"Stand down," Mike ordered him.

"But, sir, we have no—" the captain contradicted.

"I said, stand down, captain," Mike repeated. "That's an order."

_3...2...1..._ Darrell looked over at the service entrance as soon as he heard the door unlock. He hurried over to it and slowly turned the knob, hoping that no alarms were triggered in the process.

/

Amy stepped into the room that she was led into. As soon as she saw Ty and Scott, she hurried over to them both. "How is he?" she asked Ty.

"He started to feel disoriented and then he just blacked out," Ty explained.

Amy sat down on the edge of the couch and felt for a pulse. "His pulse is steady," Amy reported.

"How can I help?" Ty asked.

"We need to get some oxygen to his brain," Amy answered and then looked around the room. "There's got to be something somewhere in this hotel." She then looked back at the man who had brought her here and turned back around with a sigh, "There's no way they're going to let us find it." Amy looked at Ty.

Ty turned to the man, hands raised, "Listen," he began as he started walking over to the man. "This man has a concussion, if he doesn't get enough oxygen to his brain, he will die."

"Well, now," the man said. "Makes my job a lot easier now, doesn't it? One less person I have to watch. Now, back off." The man pushed Ty back and closed the door. Ty looked back at Amy, who was watching Scott with a worried expression on her face.

/

Back in the lobby, Matt was the only one left with Soraya. He was leaning over her, stroking her hair, as she slept, listening to her slow, but steady breaths. That is until, a man came over and pulled him up by the arm. "Let's go, move," he said.

"Wait a minute—" Matt protested.

"Shut your mouth and move!" the man snapped.

"I need to—"

"Shut up," the man said pushing him down next to Jen. "Sit down."

"— need to stay with her,"

Matt let out a sigh just as he heard Jen groan next to him. His head whipped to face her and saw that she was doubling over, in pain, no doubt.

"Are you okay?" he asked her.

"I'm having a cramp," Jen said.

"Okay, it might just be a braxton-hicks," Matt replied, all professional. "Or you could be dehydrated. Okay, stay here, I'm going to get you some water." Matt stood up and hurried over to the cart where the alcohol was gotten from.

"Sit down!" the woman yelled at him.

Matt spun around, exasperated, "She needs water, ok? Since none of us want her to go into labor, I'm going to get her a drink."

"Matt, please, just sit down," Jen begged him. "I'm ok, it's ok."

Just then, Hazel stood up from where she sat. "No– no, no, it's not ok!" she said. A man came over and pushed her back down. "Let Matt get her some water. Come on, nobody wants to worry about a baby being born in the middle of all this!"

The woman looked back at Matt, "Get her the water," Matt walked over to the cart, picked up a water bottle and started to head back to Jen. He didn't get too far when Flick came back into the room.

"What's this? What's this?" he asked walking over to Matt, putting his gun to him. "I leave for a few minutes, and you get to serve refreshments."

"She is dehydrated, she needs a drink," Matt told him.

Flick looked at the rest of the room as he said this, "No doubt you are all a little thirsty,"

"No, she is having cramps, you psycho freak, and I am trying to prevent her from having a baby!" Matt snapped.

"Oh, that's fascinating," Flick mused. "You can stave off labor by drinking a few sips of water? Wow."

"Dehydration causes cramps and cramps cause labor," Matt explained, a little calmer. "She needs the water."

"Give me that you..." Flick said, snatching the water bottle from Matt's hand, and pointing his gun at him. "You need to be taught a lesson, young man." He spoke to one of his men. "Take him in the back." The man grabbed Matt by the arm and pulled him away from the lobby. Jen watched Matt being taken away and then turned back to Flick.

"He's just scared," she said.

Flick held up the water bottle. "Do you want the water or not?" he asked her.

"Please," Jen answered and Flick handed her the bottle. "Thank you,"

Flick smiled, "Hmm. It's the little courtesies that make life better. Don't you think?" He looked around the room at the hostages.

"How is this for courtesy?" Hazel said from where she sat. "I'm going to personally thank whatever cop blows your miserable head off."

Flick walked over to her, saying, "You know what, you're attractive and wildly amusing, but you are rapidly becoming much more trouble." He stopped right in front of her.

Hazel smirked, "You think I'm afraid of you?"

"Probably not," Flick said. "But you don't strike me as being particularly bright, either."

At that moment, Jen let out another groan, turning Flick's attention to her. When his back was turned, Hazel grabbed Flick's leg, pulling him down to the floor. She grabbed his head and held the knife to his throat. Everybody watched in shock as Hazel said.

"It ends now, or you die,"

**A/N: **Sorry it took so long to update, but I hope it was worth the wait. And don't you just love cliffhangers?! I think they're so much fun! Well, anyway, review.


	9. 6 Hours Earlier

**A/N:** I am sooo sorry it took so long to update. I know you've all been deprived of this story and I hope that all of you are still alive. If anyone you needs mouth-to-mouth, Ty has volunteered to help. Enjoy.

**Chapter Eight**

6 hours earlier— 11pm

"Drop the guns!" Hazel screamed to the rest of the gunmen as she held Flick with a knife to his throat. "I'm going to kill him! Drop the guns!"

Flick spoke up just then, sounding extremely calm for his predicament. "They don't care, Hazel. We're not all friends behind these masks. We're here to get what's in the vault."

"Shut up!" Hazel told him. "Shut up, and tell them to do what I say now."

"Kill me—" Flick began.

"Now!"

"Kill me and they lock you in and blow the lobby," Flick warned. "They've got the detonator. I'm the only one who can contact the buyer. There is no deal without me. So, there's no reason to get what's in the vault. They will use the explosion to cover their escape. So you see, you wouldn't just be killing me, you would be killing your fellow hostages and yourself. Drop the knife." Hazel looked around at her fellow hostages. "Go on. Drop the knife." Hazel started to loosen her grip on the knife and Flick grabbed it from her. "Drop that knife." He stood up, faced her and pointed the knife at her.

"What do I do with you now? Hmm?"

At that moment, Jen let out a groan of pain from where she sat, doubling over and gripping her stomach. Both Flick and Hazel looked over at her.

/

Jake finished tying the unconscious gunman's legs and stood up and started for the door. "We got to get out of here," he said.

"Wait a sec, Jake, it's not enough," Sam said leaning over the gunman to get his knife.

"Sam, come on," Jake replied, going over to her and pulling her up by the arm. They opened the door, and only made it to the doorway when they say another gunman and Matt turn the corner.

"Drop the weapons or he dies," The man said, pointing the gun at Matt, as Jake aimed his gun at him. Sam looked at Jake, wondering just far he was going to take this.

"Don't listen to him, Jake," Matt said as the gunman pulled him closer to them. "He's not going to do anything unless his boss tells him—"

"Shut up, Matt," Sam told him. "Shut up."

"Well, do you want him to die?" the man asked Jake, who still hadn't put the gun down.

"Jake," Sam whispered. Jake glanced at her real quick and then allowed the gunman to take the gun. Sam reluctantly tossed knife down.

"Up against the wall," the gunman ordered. "Up against the wall!"

The three of them obliged and Matt said, "We can take him, Jake, he's outnumbered."

"Be quiet," Jake told him.

The gunman kicked open the door of the room that Sam and Jake had attempted to escape from. While keeping his guns on them, he checked the room out to see the passed out gunman.

"Why didn't you— you could have saved yourself, Sam," Matt questioned Jake, when the gunman was out of earshot.

"I would never leave anybody behind," Jake simply answered.

"Quiet!" the gunman ordered coming back out to the hall. "Flick will decide what happens to all of you,"

/

"Ok, where are they now?" D.A. Saunders asked into the phone as he walked the length of a police car parked by the curb. "No, no, let them go in, all right? Just keep me posted." He hung up phone just as Commissioner Jones walked up to him.

"Mike, is there something going on the rest of the command should know about?" Ray asked him.

"We're in a crisis situation, Ray, or haven't you heard," Mike answered sarcastically.

"We're supposed to be coordinating actions," Ray explained. "You start putting procedures into effect without following the chain of command, someone's going to get killed."

"Hey, call it intuition, all right?" Mike began. "If there is some movement inside of that building, I want to make sure that there is a team in place to extract the hostages at a moment's notice." At that point, the mayor walked up to the two of them. "Mayor Andrews—"

"Why haven't you two gotten the hostages out?"

/

"You know what," Flick said as pulled Hazel over to where Jen sat. "I'm actually wondering if you're in pain, or if you're just playing me."

"I'm really cramping," Jen managed to get out.

"Well, you're certainly being dramatic about it," Flick commented.

"This is my first pregnancy," Jen breathed. "I don't want to lose this baby."

"Aww,"

"Can't you bring Matt back to examine her?" Lou asked him from her spot in front of the door. Flick turned to look at her. "Look, I can trade places with her, if that helps."

Flick started pushing Hazel to the edge of the lobby as he said, "I'm sure you all think it would be lovely if I let the sweet girl walk to freedom," He stopped and turned to face everybody. "But then who would take care of Soraya while Jennifer gave birth in the parking lot."

"It is too soon for this baby to be born," Jen whined.

"Then I suggest you calm down, think happy thoughts, and mediate on your naval," Flick said. "Because if you continue this way, you and your baby will die tonight, ok? Good. Thank you." He was about to leave with Hazel when Matt, Jake, and Sam, followed by a gunman walked into the lobby.

"These two knocked out Four and were trying to escape," he explained to his boss.

"Oh, that's disappointing," Flick replied. "Matt, you need to stay close to Jennifer. A baby is thinking of making a very early appearance. Go." Matt instantly became concerned, put his doctor face on and hurried over to Jen.

This time, Flick spoke to Hazel. "And you and I need to have some alone time, darling. Come on," With that, he pulled Hazel out of the lobby.

/

"Why aren't you negotiating?" Mayor Andrews questioned the two. "We should have a constant line of communication open to the lobby."

"We've tried that, ok?" Mike answered, his frustration showing through. "The ringleader just jerks us around. I don't want to play into his hands. I think if we just give him a little bit more time, then he'll have the incentive to negotiate with us."

"You don't have the expertise to deal with these people," Mayor Andrews stated.

"Well, thanks for your vote of confidence, mayor," Mike said sarcastically. "But get out of my way so I can do my job." He started to push past the mayor, but he put out his hand to stop him.

"And you are making me look ridicules," Mayor Andrews replied.

"You don't need me for that," Mike snapped.

"If these people haven't started negotiating in one hour, we're sending in the tactical teams to extract the hostages by force," Mayor Andrews said and walked off.

/

"What?" Three asked from his spot on the floor opposite his hostage, Kelly. The briefcase sat in the middle of the floor, that light still flashing.

"Nothing," Kelly answered, then shrugged. "Pizza."

"What about it?" Three asked.

"Well," Kelly started, standing up. "There's this one place– Girado's– they have this pizza called the roman orgy." She crossed her arms and began to pace. "Oh, it's fully loaded. Thin crust. I can't stop thinking about it. Wouldn't that taste great right now?" She stopped and leaned against the wall, opposite him. "Wouldn't it be great to have something – I don't know – normal? As opposed to me sitting with a guy in a ski mask and a blinking briefcase."

"If it's normal we're going for, put me down for a Philly cheese steak," Three said.

"Gross," Kelly commented.

"Gross?" Three asked.

"Yeah, gross," Kelly elaborated. "All that soggy bread and fake cheese."

"No, no, not the kind you get at a food court in a mall," Three told her. "I mean the authentic Philly cheese steak from Philly. You know, where the meat is grilled and the cheese is fresh. Now, that's a little piece of heaven."

"Okay, I'm convinced," Kelly said. "But you have to tell me exactly which stand in Philly has the best cheese steaks."

At that point, something in Three's tone changed. "I've got a better idea," he replied. "Shut up and mind your own business."

/

Darrell moved through the back hallways of the hotel, slowly and quietly, his gun drawn. He was prepared in case someone saw him, but really hoped they wouldn't, because he didn't really have a solid plan. He stopped at a corner, thinking.

He then, looked up at the ceiling. If he could crawl through the air ducts above the lobby, he would be able to see what was happening in there. And then, he would be better equipped with a plan. He nodded to himself, liking the plan. Darrell picked up his gun stance again, and started back down the hall.

/

"Hello," Flick said as he and Hazel walked into the room where, Ty, Amy, and Scott were. "Oh, not dead yet? The little lady and I need some privacy. Go away. Take Scott with you."

"He shouldn't be moved," Ty told him, from his place behind the couch.

"Oh, of course, he should," Flick contradicted. "The exercise will do him good. Go."

Ty moved to the front of couch as Amy stood up and Scott sat up. Together, they helped Scott to his feet, who wobbled unsteadily at first. With their arms around Scott, all three of them made their way to the door and passed Flick and Hazel. "I hope you like surprises," Flick told them. When they were in the hall, Flick spoke to Two.

"Oh, check on Four in the other office before you drag the trauma team back to the lobby. Go," Flick instructed. When the door was closed, Flick pushed Hazel farther into the room. "And you – you've been nothing but trouble since you reached for the silent alarm." Hazel turned to face him. "Come to think of it, I don't know why I didn't kill you then? Oh, yes. Yes, I remember now." He pulled out his gun and ran it along her cheekbones. "It was out of respect for your decorative qualities. You're not much to talk to, but you're quite — quite stimulating to look at." Flick put his gun back in its holder and unzipped her coveralls, pulled them off her shoulders and unbuttoned the top of her blouse.

"You're a pig," Hazel told him.

Flick laughed, "Look at you," He grabbed her by her shoulders. "You think I'm going to rape you? You expect it, don't you?" Flick let her go and pulled her coveralls back up. "Sorry. That's not how I operate, darling. But you didn't know that when we came into the room, did you? You didn't protest. You didn't try to run away. You figured, why not? Whatever it takes to stay alive. You'd do anything to survive, don't you? No matter who gets left behind."

/

"Okay, just keep breathing," Matt told Jen, where he sat beside her, rubbing her back, soothingly.

"It's ok," Jen assured him. "They're easy enough."

Matt turned to look at Sam. "Sam, is Soraya breathing?"

Sam glanced at Soraya, lying so still on the couch, she stood beside. "Yes," she confirmed.

"Is it strong? Is it regular?" Matt pressed for more information.

"I don't know," Sam answered. She started to move to check, when a gun was pressed to her back. Sam turned and gave the man an annoyed glare. "I can't tell,"

Matt was about to say something, when Jen let out another groan. He looked back at her.

"Okay, Jen, you may need water. You could be dehydrated," Sam said. Turning, saying "Let me get you some—" But the same man, pressed the gun to her again. Sam sent him another glare, wanting nothing more than to grab the gun and throw it across the room.

Jake turned to face the two. "It's not complicated. We need some water."

"We already tried that," the man informed them. "It didn't work."

Everybody turned when they heard more people coming back into the lobby. It was Two, leading Amy and Ty, supporting Scott. Shock turned to fear on everybody's faces. Slowly, Amy and Ty let Scott ly on the floor where he felt more comfortable. When she made sure he was, Amy looked up at Sam.

"How's Soraya?" she asked.

"She's either passed out or asleep," Sam answered.

/

"Mayor," Mike began walking up to Mayor Andrews. "I don't care how bad the press is, I'm not risking the hostages."

"Then why have the SWAT team here ready to storm the building?" Mayor Andrews questioned. "And what makes you think this is a robbery gone wrong?"

"They have made no demands, all right?" Mike defended his actions. "If they were here for the money, they would have negotiated for the hostages long ago. What do you want me to do with the SWAT team? You want me to send them home? We have to be ready for whenever the opportunity presents itself."

"You're in over your head, Saunders," Mayor Andrews told him. "Just for the record, if this goes badly, I'm not the only one who's going to get skewered. You can kiss your career goodbye."

"Well, right now, I'm worried about the hostages, mayor," Mike said. "My career can wait."

/

"You're not like any of the other women, are you?" Flick was saying from his place right behind Hazel. "They may be terrified, but there's a nobility about them. They worry about others more than they worry about themselves. Poor girl's got a bullet wound. That one's ailing husband. Even Sweet Sam. She gets nasty and shows her teeth, but even that's to keep her boyfriend alive. So, who do you care about, Hazel, other than yourself?"

"You're the exception, and you know it. You'll do anything to save your own skin. I can certainly empathize with that. I am always my own priority. So, what do you think of your life's worth, Hazel?"

"You go to hell," Hazel hissed.

"The lady -- and I use the term loosely -- doth protest too much." Flick replied. "You see, you live in a one-person world, unlike young Jennifer over there. She doesn't care how frightened she is. Her focus is to stay safe so that the baby she's carrying will survive. That selflessness -- that -- that nurturing maternal instinct is wholly absent from you. And you know what? I admire that. Self-preservation is the most basic and entertaining of instincts."

/

Darrell stealthy walked down the hall and stopped at the door. He was pretty sure, this was the room that led the air duct system. Gun poised, Darrell opened the door. Luckily, the room was empty. He walked over to the far wall, looking at the air duct. This was it.

Suddenly, something on the floor caught his eye. He knelt down by it and saw that it was droplets of blood. That means the gunmen had been in the room and that also meant that they could come back at any time.

/

"Ok, maybe some more water will help," Matt told Jen and started to get up. He didn't get that far when Flick and Hazel came back into the lobby.

"Let me get this clear," Flick began, clearly starting to get agitated. "I get to decide who lives or dies. You people are getting way to comfortable. It's time to change partners." He pointed to Hazel. "Hazel, you get to sit in angel corner for awhile. Maybe your life will flash in front of your eyes and you'll reconsider you wicked ways." Hazel made her way over to Matt. Flick pointed to Sam and Jake. "You two can provide brain patient with aid and comfort. Dr. Amy and her hot-headed boyfriend can have a little pleasure time in the corner over there. Go!"

/

"The ringleader is prepared to release a pregnant hostage," D.A. Saunders informed the mayor and commissioner, after hanging up the phone.

"What about the gunshot victim?" Commissioner Jones asked.

"I'm sorry, Ray, I had to take what I could get," Mike explained.

"Now, you're pandering to a felon," Mayor Andrews commented. "What did you have to promise him?"

"He's prepared to make a list of demands," Mike answered.

"And we're supposed to comply?" Mayor Andrews inquired.

"With all do respect," Ray stepped in. "They release a hostage now, it will be something of a miracle. As police commissioner, I think we should let it play out."

Mike nodded in agreement, "Yes,"

"Here's a better idea," Mayor Andrews interjected. "When they send out the hostage, you send in the SWAT team." He walked off after that and Mike and Ray looked at each other.

/

"Well, things are getting very interesting," Flick commented. "I have an offer from Mr. Saunders. He thinks I should release young Jennifer here," He gestured to where Jen sat on the floor near Scott. "Simply because she's in labor. But wouldn't you know it, I forgot to tell him that Dr. Scott here is suffering from a concussion." He sighed. "Our medical staff is dropping like flies."

Flick pointed to where Amy and Ty stood, his gun pointed to Amy. "And that's what makes you even more valuable, darling,"

"If anybody should be released, it's Soraya," Amy told him. "Her pulse is weak. She's unconscious. She's still critical."

"Soraya's not an option," Flick stated, pulling back his gun. "She's provided us with hours of entertainment. And –you know– to simply send her away would just be rude. Besides, she's had a moment in the sun, surgery by proxy, come on, let's give somebody else a turn, ok?"

Flick grinned that devilish grin of his. "Jennifer or Scott. The vet student or the vet...Oh, but, wait, wait, before we do anything." He walked forward a few steps. "There's something...I've been meaning to do. Something I've been to busy to take care of. What was it again? Oh, yes," He laughed and then lowered his gun toward somebody's head. "Kill Jacob Ely."

/

Darrell crawled through the air duct, starting to regret his decision. Deciding to crawl through these tight quarters seemed easier when he was down below, but now. He shook his head, he had to rescue Jen and all the other hostages in the lobby. He came to a turn off and debated whether or not to take it. In the end, he turned onto it.

Darrell crawled only a few feet, when he came upon an air vent. He looked down into it and he almost gasped out aloud. His pulse started to quicken.

"The lobby,"

/

Mike marched up to Mayor Andrews, saying, "We can't send a pregnant woman into the middle of a gun battle." Ray walked up behind him as he continued. "There's no way you are storming that hotel."

"You'll be catching them off guard!" Mayor Andrews snapped. He turned to the captain. "Brief the SWAT team. Hey, get a clear shot when that door opens to let the hostage out, you tell them to take it." He turned back to Mike and Ray. "When these people start dying, they're going to realize that no amount of cash and jewels is worth their lives."

"This isn't about cash and jewels!" Mike argued. "This guy has an agenda, and I have a very strong feeling we're going to find out what that is once the vault is opened! Right now, the hostages are relatively safe, but they're not going to be unless you do something stupid to get them killed!"

/

"Face the wall," a gunman said, once he led Jake into a room and the door was closed. "Put your hands up."

"Even in third-world countries, you get a cigarette and a meeting with a priest before they execute you," Jake replied, turning around, hands up.

"You've had all night to say your prayers," the gunman told him, his gun drawn.

"So, what are you going to do?" Jake questioned. "Blindfold me, shoot me back. You going to turn around and look at you before you kill me?"

"You choice," the gunman said.

/

"I'm in the horns of a dilemma," Flick said, as he spoke, Darrell watched and listened from above. "A young, virtuous, attractive mother-to-be with her whole life in front of her or a young, handsome man with a bad headache. Who goes free?" He pointed the gun at Amy. "You decide,"

Ty stepped in front of her. "You can't ask her to do that,"

"Now, you don't want me to shoot Amy just as she's about to have some real fun," Flick replied. This he directed to Amy. "Make a decision. Who leaves our little family?"

Amy walked in front of Ty, her eyes watering with tears. "He's my brother-in-law," she told him.

"I know," Flick said.

"She could lose her baby," Amy replied.

"Isn't it perfect?" Flick asked. "That's why you get to decide— because you understand the gravity of the situation. However, I should warn you that the window of opportunity is rapidly, rapidly closing. Think fast, Amy. Who will you save?"


	10. 5 Hours Earlier

**A/N:** I know, another extremely looonnnnggg wait. And I am really sorry about that. I hope you can forgive me and accept this chapter as an apology. Enjoy.

**Chapter Nine**

5 hours earlier— 12am

"It's time for our lovely contestant to choose," Flick said as he grabbed Hazel up by the arm and pushed her toward a different part of the lobby. "Dr. Scott is having bad headaches, and Miss Jennifer appears to be in premature labor. Who are you going to save?"

"Don't do this," Ty told him. Flick nodded to a gunman behind the two and the gunman stepped forward, sending his machine gun into Ty's back, who fell to the floor.

"No help from the studio audience, please," Flick said.

Amy looked at Ty and then back at Flick, "I— I'd like to examine them so I can determine—"

"Sorry, you've run out of time," Flick interrupted her. "What is your answer?"

The room was silent, the air tense, until Two spoke from behind Flick. "Let her examine them," Flick turned to look at her. "Isn't it more entertaining to build the suspense?"

/

"You realize you'd be killing any chance you have of getting away?" Jake said, as he still stood facing away from the man with the gun drawn at him.

"Maybe, maybe not," the gunman replied.

"You don't see what's happening in that lobby?" Jake asked him. "Mr. One's big plan is falling apart. Now, the vault's not going to open for hours. Your boss is already starting to unravel. Even if he gets the briefcase, he's going to be so fried, he's not going to be able to pull of his so-called exit strategy." Jake slowly turned around to face him.

"What do you care?" the gunman questioned him. "You'll be dead."

Suddenly, the gunman's gun clicked and then the door to the room opened. Jake turned to see Flick standing there, his gun pointed at him.

/

"_The situation remains extremely tense," a news reporter spoke into the camera. "Polices sources confirms that there has been contact with one of the gunmen inside the hotel, but–"_

"God, those fool reporters just keep blabbering the same thing over and over again," Luke Ely said in frustration, clicking the television off. "Why don't they tell us something new?"

"Luke, Luke, calm down," Maxine Ely said from her place on the couch next to her husband.

"Look, what do you expect me to do?" Luke asked her standing up from the couch. "I can't be calm because Jake and Sam are hostages."

"And there is nothing we can do about it," Maxine told him.

"Oh, stop being so infuriatingly rational," Luke said. "Don't you want to do something?"

"I am worried sick about Jake and Sam," Maxine confessed to him.

"Listen, if they harm one hair on that little girl's—"

"Jake is with Sam," Maxine said. "I'm sure he'll do everything he can to protect her."

"You know, to–to make matters worse, Darrell is probably down at that hotel right now engaged in more half-baked heroics," Luke speculated.

"Luke, please—" Maxine exclaimed, standing up.

"What?" Luke asked her.

"—Shut up," Maxine told him. "My pulse is spiking just listening to you."

"You know, I don't think you need to worry because Darrell knows what he's doing," Nate commented from where he sat on the armchair.

"Yeah? Since when?" Luke questioned him.

"Well, look, if I was being held hostage and my life could be ripped away from me any second, I'd want Darrell to be the one to rescue me," Nate explained, a smile beginning pulling at the corner of his mouth. At that moment, Adam and Quinn walked into the living room.

"Oh, please," Luke said, covering his face with his hands. "That's an image I do not wish to contemplate."

"Spare us, Nate," Quinn said as he sat down on the couch.

"Have you heard anything?" Maxine asked her other two sons.

"Yes, apparently, the gunmen have agreed to release one hostage," Adam answered her.

/

"Scott, you need to concentrate on your breathing, slow and steady," Sam told him from her place on the floor next to him. "It's really fast."

"Sam—Sam, I'm not the one in labor," Scott mumbled, his voice hoarse. "That would be Jen."

"Hey," Amy said kneeling down beside Sam and taking Scott's pulse. "How are you feeling, Scott?"

"I'm fine," Scott insisted. "The pain is subsiding...a little. You need to go check on Jen."

"No, no, you don't give the orders this time," Amy told him. "You're the patient, not the doctor."

"Listen, Jen can't give birth here," Scott said, stating the obvious.

"Yeah, and we don't know if there is any bleeding or swelling inside your head," Amy replied.

"The pain is going down," Scott still insisted.

"That doesn't mean a thing," Amy said. "You have got to let me take care of you."

"That baby is going to be too premature to survive outside of a hospital,"

Amy closed her eyes for a second and sighed inwardly. Scott wasn't giving in. She opened her eyes and spoke to him again. "You remember what you told me when Soraya was shot? To think objectively, as if this were a triage situation, to consider who needs treatment first."

Scott managed a small laugh, "You mean, you actually listened to me?"

"Yeah," Amy laughed a little too. "You've shown me by example. You're a wonderful person, not only on a clinical level, but for the caring concern you show your patients. I can only hope that I can live up to your example."

Scott looked up at her, his face completely serious. "You've got me beat by a mile, Amy," Scott told her.

Amy smiled, "I want you to stick around so that I can keep following in your footsteps."

/

"They've agreed to release one hostage?" Mayor Andrews asked D.A. Saunders. "This is our best chance to storm the lobby and get those people out."

"May I suggest that we wait until morning to mount an assault?" Mike asked, turning to face the mayor.

"No, you've waited far too long already," Mayor Andrews declined. "When those doors open, that SWAT team goes in."

Mike ran a hand through his short brown hair, in frustration. "One of the hostages is a pregnant woman," he pointed out. "The other happens to be barely hanging on after being operated on with a paring knife. What do you think Soraya Martin's chances are if you mount a–a direct assault on the lobby?"

"We have to accept the fact that there may be casualties here," Mayor Andrews said.

"You calling Soraya's death acceptable?" Griffen questioned him from behind the two. In one swift motion, Griffen spun the mayor around and punched him square in the jaw.

"Griffen!" Mike exclaimed, reaching for the mayor. Another officer rushed to pull Griffen back, to stop him from continuing his attack on the mayor.

"You don't care about saving hostages!" Griffen accused.

"That's absurd!" Mayor Andrews shot back.

"The reporters have no breaking news," Griffen continued. "We're at a stalemate, and you don't like that, do you, mayor?"

"Griffen, this isn't helping anybody!" Mike told him, stepping in between the two.

"If it stops this moron from storming that lobby and killing somebody, it's doing something!" Griffen replied.

Mayor Andrews walked towards Griffen, saying, "Look, Saunders is right, those gunmen are going to kill those hostages the second that vault is open. We have to get them out now!"

"Soraya and the other hostages are counting on you to save them," Griffen said. "And you're not going to do anything, are you?"

"No, you fool," Mayor Andrews replied, shaking his head. "This may be our only legitimate chance to save those people." He backed up a step and turned to the two officers holding Griffen. "This man just assaulted a public official. I want him arrested right now!"

"Griffen established contact with the ringleader," Mike explained, calmly. "I might need him, he stays."

"Commissioner Jones, would you please place Griffen under arrest?" Mayor Andrews asked of the Commissioner. Mike looked over at Ray.

"If Griffen hadn't have punched you, I would have myself," Ray answered the mayor

/

"Interesting," Flick responded, closing the door and walking further into the room. Jake turned to face him, his hands still in the air. "The gun went off and you're still alive. Do you know why? You're alive because you're potentially useful. I may use you at my disposal." His gun was aimed right at Jake. "So, I won't kill you -- yet." He tossed something to the other gunman and ordered him to. "Now, secure Jacob Ely to the chair. I'm going to check on his lovely girlfriend. Let's hope for her sake that she'll be cooperative. Go. Give me just little more time."

/

"_Mayor Andrews is at the scene," the reporter said. "So far, he has refused to comment. However, given the mayor's tough stance on crime, there is speculation—"_

"Oh, god—" Luke exasperated, clicking the television off again. "Lives are on the line, and the foolish reporters are blabbering about that fool Andrews. What's he even doing there in the first place?"

"He's turning it into a photo op, dad, and I can't watch anymore," Adam answered.

"Why wouldn't they report it if they're going to release a hostage?" Maxine questioned.

"Only somebody who needs medical attention," Quinn commented.

"That's why we should go down there and show these people how to handle this situation," Nate said from his place on the chair.

"Yeah," Adam agreed, high-fiving his brother.

"Boys, you are not going down there and making it worse for the police," Maxine warned them.

"Oh, come one, mom," Adam said. "We can't do any worse than those half-pints in uniforms and badges. Besides, nobody messes with the Ely brothers." All the boys gathered around, whooping and hollering, while Maxine just rolled her eyes at her sons.

/

"Here, take his pulse every five minutes while I go check on Jen," Amy told Sam.

"Ok, yeah, I got it," Sam said.

Amy turned back to Scott, "Keep your breathing as even as you can, Scott,"

"Yes, doctor," Scott joked. Amy started to leave when Scott pulled her back. "Listen to me, let Jen go." Amy looked at him once more and then moved over to Jen.

"How far apart are the contractions?" Amy asked Hazel, who was sitting next to Jen.

"Oh, I'm not sure," Hazel sighed and looked towards Jen. "I think they're about eight minutes apart."

"Yeah," Jen breathed, nodding her head.

"Look, I'm worried about fetal distress, and without a fetal heart monitor, it's—"

"Amy, stop ok?" Jen told her. "The pains are getting less intense. And I'm sure it's just from stress and dehydration." Amy and Hazel watched her worriedly.

"Jen, you don't have to do this," Amy said.

"Do what?" Jen asked.

"Make it easier for me to choose," Amy answered. "It's too soon for this baby to be born. You know that as well as I do."

"Still vacillating?" Flick asked as he walked back into the lobby. "Indecisiveness is such an annoying character flaw." He stopped in front of Amy and pointed his gun at her.

"It took her awhile to examine them both," Two explained.

"Correction," Flick said. "It took her too long."

"The harder she struggles with this, the more entertaining for you," Two defended.

"The suspense is only pleasurable after a certain point," Flick replied. "Wrap it up. Please."

As Flick walked away, Sam turned back around with a look on her face and Scott saw it. "Whatever your thinking, stop," he told her. "You're only going to make things worse."

"Maybe not," Sam said. "Everyone has a weakness, and I just found out our fearless leader's." She turned and looked at Flick when she finished.

/

"Griffen save Soraya's life by establishing a dialogue with the ringleader," Ray talked the mayor down. "We may need him to do that again."

"You and Saunders are supposedly trained in dealing with hostage situations?" Mayor Andrews asked the two of them. "You're going to have to handle this without Griffen's input. I want him out of here." With that, he turned and walked off. But Mike followed him.

"Mayor Andrews?" the mayor stopped and turned to face the D.A. "If you're so interested in saving the hostages, as well as your career, I respectfully choose to ignore that order."

"Good," Mayor Andrews responded. "You're the one who's going to burn for this, Saunders."

/

"When that safe opens, your boss is going to grab whatever's inside and leave the rest of you twisting in the wind," Jake was saying from his place tied up in the chair.

"Shut. Up." the gunman commanded him.

"Why should he pay you when he doesn't need you?" Jake continued. "He's the only who can contact the buyer, remember? And a job this big, the payoff must be...incredible. You really think number one is going to share his profits?"

At that moment, Five opened the door and spoke to the other gunman. "Hey, one wants him back in the lobby," The gunman leaned over Jake and uncuffed and then spoke to Five.

"Get him out of here,"

"What's going on?" Jake asked Five as he pulled him out of the room. But before he left, Jake spotted a handgun just lying on the floor near the wall. His eyes narrowed.

When they had left, Darrell opened the vent and jumped down from the air duct. He had heard the whole exchange between Jake and the men. He walked towards the door, knowing he had a lot of work to do.

/

"I want coverage of those upper windows," Mayor Andrews was telling the SWAT team. "If we see movement at all—"

"You know, this all could've been a mind game," Mike said to Ray and Griffen. "They may not be intending to release any hostages at all."

"You said they agreed as a show of good faith," Griffen replied.

"I know you're hoping they'll release Hazel, but the ringleader specifically mentioned Jennifer Kenworthy," Ray told him.

"Yes," Mike nodded. "And if Jennifer and the baby are in distress, then they may need emergency care."

"Yeah," Griffen mumbled, turning to look away from both of them.

/

"No, no, no, keep Sam and Jake apart," Flick ordered when the gunman was about to bring Jake over to Sam. "They're wonderfully entertaining individuals, but put them together and their tediously devoted spouses." Sam looked worriedly at Jake. "If you keep them apart, perhaps they won't create any discord to other members of our party. Sit."

"Of course I'd rather be in a hospital, but I'm not in critical condition," Jen argued.

"But what if you're really in labor?" Amy asked her.

"I'm not, ok?" Jen answered. "I refuse to be. And if for some reason this baby decides to come early, it is going to take hours. Ok? And—and I'll be fine. We'll all be out of here by then."

"Very, very noble. Bravo," Flick commented as he appeared behind Amy. "You know as I well as I do your friend's lying. She's only trying to make it easier for you to ignore her crisis."

"Amy, don't listen to him, ok?"

"If you choose Jennifer, your poor brother-in-law won't survive," Flick went on. "If you choose him, an innocent baby will be born, or die, right here in this lobby." He bent down and grabbed Amy's hair, pulling her closer. "This is a watershed moment. Pay attention, girl!"

"Some fearless leader you are—" Ty said suddenly, standing up where he was. "— bullying women around?" A gunman stepped forward and grabbed his shoulder, but Ty ignored him. By then, Flick was up and walking toward him.

"Will you—"

"Takes a lot of guts," Ty continued.

"—Shut up!" Flick snapped. "You are such a bad example to your fellow hostages!" The gunman managed to push Ty back down to the floor. Two stepped toward Flick and put her hand on his arm.

"One?" she started. "Amy has to choose...between her dying brother-in-law and the mother-to-be. If you kill her fiancé, she'll be too hysterical to decide."

"That's true," Flick agreed, looking at Two and back at Ty. "Let's find another target." Flick moved the gun to a different part of the lobby and pulled the trigger.

Sam screamed.

"Jake! Jake?" she got up quickly and started to run to him, but Flick stopped her.

"If you don't sit down and shut up, I'll put a bullet in your head right now," Flick warned her. Hesitantly, Sam sat back down where she was. "Very prudent. Do you have anything else to add? No, feel free to answer, now that your temper is under control. I always find your comments very amusing."

"Jake needs medical attention," Sam answered without looking at Flick.

"Yes, I can see that," Flick said, turning to look at him. "But, you see, our medical personnel is running a little thin. Dr. Scott's in a condition, Jennifer is about to give birth. There's Amy, of course, but she's a little preoccupied at the moment. So who's it going to be?" Flick looked around the lobby and finally pointed the gun at somebody. "I think it's going to be Matt. Perhaps you can give some medical comfort, as poor Jake bleeds to death. Oh, on second thought— huh— Jake can't possibly bleed to death from a shoulder wound. Let's see if my aim is a little more accurate."

"You're starting to lose it, Flick," Jake spoke up as he sat up. "I thought Amy was the one that was supposed to choose. Wasn't that going to be the big event? She chooses between her brother-in-law and the mother-to-be?"

"Do you enjoy gambling, Jake?" Flick asked as he leaned down to eye level with him. "Because I can assure you, you're pushing your luck." He turned to face Amy as he continued. "But you do make a valid point. Amy has had more than enough time to think about it. So think about it, Amy?"

Amy stood up, "I've made my choice,"

"And now the moment we've been waiting for," Flick said to the entire lobby as he walked over to Amy. He put his arm around her waist and pulled her closer. "Who's it going to be? Your brother-in-law, hmm? The mother-to-be, hmm?"

/

_I can only see part of the lobby through the air duct, _Darrell thought to himself as he paced around the now-empty room. _I need to go over the layout again. _He went over to where he hid his laptop behind a dresser, pulled it out and sat down on the couch with it.

"I need to know every possible way to get those hostages out," Darrell whispered to himself as he booted the laptop up.

Suddenly, Five burst into the room. "Freeze!" he told him. Without a thought, Darrell jumped up and punched the man, who then fell to the floor in a helpless heap. He pulled the man's mask off and held it between his hands, knowing what he had to do.

Then, Darrell snapped into action and started to drag Five to a back part of the room and tied him up. He pulled the mask of his face and picked up the man's machine gun. With a deep breath, Darrell exited the room and headed for the lobby.

/

"Time's running out," Flick was saying as Darrell walked into the lobby and went to stand by Jake and Matt. "Who's it going to be, huh? The supportive girlfriend or the loving brother-in-law? Three, two, one...Time's up. Name the lucky winner."

Amy looked at Scott and Jen apologetically and then answered, "Holly,"

"Oh, a twist, I love it," Flick commented as he turned to where Lou and Holly sat. "Congratulations, little Holly. Better luck next time, you two. Oh, that's right— there won't be a next time." He turned back to Holly. "Ok, on your feet." He pushed Amy. "You sit down."

"Come on, I'll help you up," Lou said to her daughter, grateful that she was going free.

"No, you've done enough," Flick stopped her. "Put her someplace else, will you?" Two walked over to Lou and pulled her away. Holly sat very still, wide-eyed, terror written all over her face.

"My daughter is scared, she needs help," Lou argued.

At this time, the hotel manager stood up, "A couple of us can walk her out,"

"No, I said I was going to release one hostage, not three," Flick told them.

"At least let us help her to the door," Ty bartered.

"Forget it," Flick replied. "She walks out alone or she doesn't go. And to make sure of it— eight? Get a sniper rifle and take position on the second-floor window. If anyone else than Holly tries to run away, if the police gets anxious and try and storm the lobby, even if you want to do a little target practice, fire at will."

"Got it," Eight said as he walked off.

"And now that we've set the parameters," Flick started as he started to Holly and knelt down in front of her. "Hello, it's time for you to leave, Holly. Come on." Holly looked up at him and started to gather her legs underneath her. She stopped when she saw all the fearful and worries faces around and the guns.

Her lip quivered in fear. "I can't," she squeaked out.

"It's ok, Holly, it's going to be ok," Amy spoke to her, then turned to Flick. "Release Jen instead."

"Sorry, no exchanges," Flick said without taking his eyes off Holly. "It's Holly or no one."

"She needs someone to help her walk to the door!" Lou suddenly exclaimed.

"Well, that's too bad," Flick said. "She walks alone!"

"Well, you got what you wanted!" It was Amy's turn to outburst. "You tortured us all, you made me choose! Now, just let her go!"

"Wow, such passion," Flick commented. "How can I refuse that?"

"Five?" Darrell looked at Flick. "Take her to the door. Are you happy now?"

Darrell walked over to where Holly still sat. He touched her small arm and she looked up at him with the saddest bluest eyes he had ever seen. "Come on, your getting out of here," he whispered to her. Darrell scooped her up and started making his way to the door.

/

"There's movement in the second-floor window," Ray informed the unit when he spotted someone open up a window on the second floor.

"Is it a hostage?" Mike asked him.

"A sniper," the captain of the SWAT team answered him. "I can see the rifle."

"Get your men into position," Ray ordered the captain when he had walked over to him. "If he fires, take him out." Ray leaned down on the squad car he was behind and drew his gun. Everybody outside looked on, all wondering what was going to happen next.

Suddenly, the hotel doors opened and a small girl started to come out. She looked frightened as she looked back to the lobby and then toward the police.

"Someone's coming out!" a detective shouted to the unit.

"Watch the sniper!" Ray ordered. "Prepare to fire!"

As the little girl started to make her way to the police, Tim Fleming recognized her immediately. "Oh my god, it's Holly!" he exclaimed. At that moment, the sniper in the window fired.

"Take out the sniper!" the captain ordered the SWAT team. A shot was fired and then the sniper returned fire again. Holly froze at that time and her face paled.

"Something's wrong," Tim murmured to himself.

Inside the lobby, Lou launched herself at the door as more and more gunshots were heard, but Ty grabbed a hold of her. "They're shooting at her!" she cried. Tears were now streaming down her face as she thought of her daughter in the middle of a gun battle and possibly getting hit by a stray bullet.

As another gunshot went off, Holly fell to the icy ground.

"Hold your fire!" Tim yelled at the police. "Hold your fire!"

Lou turned towards Flick, who just had his gun raised to the ceiling, with that evil smirk on his face. "Just make them stop shooting!" As Lou pleaded, Sam looked towards Five, who was standing just behind Lou. Something about him seemed so familiar. Her eyes widened as she figured out who it was. Darrell.

**A/N:** Again, I am really sorry you had to wait this long, but I plan on getting started on the next chapter right away. I promise. You can hold me to that.


	11. 4 Hours Earlier

**Chapter Ten**

4 hours earlier--- 1 a.m.

"_We're live at the scene where shots are being fired. One child, who may be a hostage, has just been shot."_

"They're shooting at a little girl," Quinn stated the obvious as the family watched the whole thing unravel on screen.

"Why doesn't she get up?" Nate asked, to no one in particular.

"She's dead," Adam whispered. But Maxine, who was sitting next to him, still heard him and hit him a little on the arm.

"Don't say that," she told him. "She's not."

////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Suddenly, Tim couldn't watch his granddaughter lie on the ground, helplessly anymore. He broke through the police barricade and ran toward the fallen child, dodging bullets as he went.

"What the hell?!" D.A. Mike exclaimed as he stood behind a police car to get a better look.

"Hold your fire!" Commissioner Ray ordered the team. "Hold your fire!" He motioned to the paramedics, who were standing nearby. "Get that gurney ready!" Then, Ray turned to SWAT team members. "Go!"

The two men, with a shield drawn, hurried over to Tim and Holly. Tim saw them coming and scooped Holly's frail body in his arms. Together, they all made their way slowly toward the awaiting paramedics. Tim placed Holly onto the gurney and the paramedics started looking her over.

"Sweetie, where were you hit?" one of the paramedics asked her. Holly was to terrified to answer, she lay on the gurney staring up at the night sky, her face pale and her breath ragged.

"In the arm," Tim answered for her. "I think it just grazed her."

"You're right," the other paramedic agreed. "I see an entrance and an exit."

//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

"_It appears one civilian somehow broke through police barricade. He ran out and helped the fallen hostage to safety. No word on how badly the hostage was injured. But the shooting has……"_

"Hey, don't mute it," Luke told Nate after he had pressed the button on the remote. "I can't tell what's going on."

"Neither could that reporter," Nate said after he had put the remote on the coffee table. "And her inane babble is making me crawl out of my skin." He got up from the couch and walked to the other side of the living room.

"Damn it," Luke suddenly said to the television. "Get the camera away from the looky-loos and put it on the child that was wounded."

"Why would they shoot a little girl?" Quinn asked, disbelievingly.

"How the hell would I know?" Luke answered. "They certainly have plenty of other worthwhile candidates starting with that miserable ringleader."

"And what was that man doing running through police barricade into the middle of a gun battle?" Quinn questioned.

"He was mucking things up, that's what he was doing," Luke answered him.

"From what the reporter says, it looks like he saved the girl's life," Adam corrected him.

"Alright, that's it," Nate said suddenly walking toward the door. "I'm going down there, I'll call you with more information."

"Well, so am I," Quinn replied, getting up and following Nate. "I want in on the action."

"I'm going also," Adam said, standing up. Maxine gave her son a look. "Just to make sure those two don't cause any trouble." With that, he hurried after his brothers.

/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

"Oh, I'm disappointed," Flick said when Eight came back into the lobby. "Were you trying to miss?" During the whole exchange, Lou was trying to break free of Ty's hold.

"Let go of me!" Lou broke free of his hold and ran toward Flick and Eight. "You shot my daughter!"

"No!" Flick rose his voice. "I don't believe he did."

"Oh, she fell on her own," Eight told her.

"It doesn't appear that the consoling you gave your daughter…."

"Oh, shut up!" Lou cried giving Flick a shove backwards and she started hitting him. "You were trying to kill her. She was three years old and had her whole life ahead of her. And you killed her." At that, Darrell came over to her and was trying to pull her off of Flick.

"I hate you animals!" Lou screamed. "All of you! You're the ones who should die. Not decent people. Do you get the difference, you coward?! Hiding behind your stupid masks." She turned toward Darrell reached for his mask. "You're so tough, why don't you take it off." Darrell blocked her and that's when Sam stood up and walked up to her.

"You've got to calm down," Sam told her, taking Lou's arm. "Calm down." Lou tried to pull away from her, but Sam held onto her. "I understand that you are frustrated about your daughter, but you need to calm down or we are all going to die."

"Well, he's going to kill us anyway," Lou replied. She turned back to Flick. "Right? You don't care about human life. You send a small, helpless child outside and then you shot her."

"That's the purpose of the hostage," Flick informed her. "To die for my cause."

"Oh, yeah," Lou said. "Ok, so what's your purpose? Huh? You can walk out of here with everything in that vault and you'll still be the same piece of worthless trash that you were when it started."

"I second that," Hazel spoke up.

"You people don't seem to be clear about one concept," Flick turned to address the whole lobby, while walking toward the front desk. "You're not in charge here," He reached down and grabbed a bell hop. "I. Am." Flick pulled the man up and slammed him head first into the desk. "Do you understand?" He let the man fall to the floor, in pain.

"But Lou was right about one thing," Flick turned to the rest of the room. "I couldn't care less if you die or if you crawl out of the wreckage of this hotel with a few less body parts. So either you stifle the urges to lash out at me and behave like nice little kiddies or be prepared to pay the price. Now, everybody on the floor and don't make me say it again!"

He walked back over to Lou, "You, I'd like you to curb your hysterics," Lou pushed the gun away with her arm and started to walk away. "If you don't want lover boy here to get his head blown off." He gestured to Ty. He pointed the gun at Ty, then Lou, until they both were seated on the floor. Then, he turned around.

"You, Florence Nightingale," A young girl looked up from where she was attending to the wounded man. "Stop what you're doing." Flick turned to Darrell. "Take her in the back."

"Why?" the girl asked. On his way to the girl, Darrell started to put his hand on Jen's shoulder, but she pushed him away. Darrell didn't take offense to it.

"Because I don't want to hear your voice anymore," Flick answered the girl. "On second thought, on second thought, Six you take her in the back." Darrell sighed inwardly, as he handed the girl to Six, who came forward to collect her.

"That was great what you did for Lou," Jake told Sam, in a whisper. "But don't do it again."

Sam looked over to where Darrell was standing and then back at Jake, "Jake,…"

"Listen to me," Jake interrupted her. "This guy is starting to unravel. He's not playing mind games anymore. He wants to regain control of the situation, if he starts losing it even more, he's going to start killing people."

"He's going to need the hostages alive," Sam protested.

Jake winced at the pain in his shoulder, Sam took over putting pressure on the wound, as he continued, "He doesn't need all of us, as a matter of fact, he only needs half of us. So, you stop acting on impulse and you stay calm and you stay quiet."

Sam looked back over at Darrell, who stood watching her, and spoke to Jake, "There may be another way."

Flick stepped forward from where he was speaking to his group and spoke to the hostages again. "Our second-story man here, tells me there was breach in security. It seems like there was one would-be hero who breached the police barricade to scrape young Holly off the ground." Darrell gulped, hoping his cover won't be blown.

"We'll be checking for more interlopers and pay much more attention to the security system," When he was finished, Flick gestured to Hazel, Jen, and Soraya. "Five, these three are yours." Darrell nodded. "Seven," Flick gestured him someplace else.

"Ok, hostages," Flick called attention. "Just a brief reminder, this lobby is set to explode and you don't know which one of us has the detonator. So be very careful of who you touch and how." Darrell looked down at Jen. "My people, listen up, if someone as so much as breathes loud, kill them. Please."

////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Holly's breathing was still labored and her face was still paled. The only thing that seem to have changed was instead of staring straight, her cornflower blue eyes moved wildly around her surroundings.

"Ma…ma…" her tiny voice croaked out. Tim Fleming moved to stand beside the gurney and took his granddaughter's hand.

"It's ok, honey," Tim tried to console her. "Pop pop's here,"

It didn't seem to work because Holly's eyes began to fill with tears as she started to scream for mother. She started to flail around, trying to push everybody away and get off the gurney. But the paramedics were ready and soon after piercing her skin with a needle, the little girl was lying still on the gurney, her eyes half-closed.

"Ok, good," one of the paramedics said. "Let's get her to the hospital." With that, they started to wheel her to the waiting ambulance.

"Hold on, wait," Ray stopped Tim. "We need to question her about what's going on inside."

"My granddaughter is in no shape to answer any questions," Tim simply told him and with that he hurried after the paramedics.

/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Kelly sat on the floor of the vault, staring at the floor and bouncing her knee. She looked across from her to her captor. He was asleep. She carefully crawled over to him, being as quiet as she could be. She stopped next to him for a second and then Kelly reached her arm over and in one swift motion pulled the mask from his face.

Instantly, the man was awake and Kelly was on the other side of the vault again. He stood up and pointed his gun at her.

"No, no don't shoot me," Kelly pleaded.

"What the hell did you do that for?" the man wanted to know.

"I thought you might be roasting," Kelly explained herself.

"Give me one good reason not to kill you?" he asked her.

"Because you don't want to," Kelly answered. "Obviously, it was stupid of me to take off you mask, but look at it from my point of view. I've been stuck in here with you for hours, not knowing what you look like and it was driving me crazy."

"If I let you live, you can I.D. me," he said.

"No, I won't," Kelly replied. "I promise."

"And I'm just supposed to trust you on that?" he questioned her.

"Look, you didn't expect any of this, right?" Kelly said. "You took this job, thinking it was going to last five minutes and pay you a million dollars. You didn't think of what you'd have to do for that money. If you kill me, that's murder and that… ruins the rest of your life, you don't want that, right?"

The man sighed and turned back to his side of the vault, "You're right," He sat back down on the floor. "I didn't think this through," He ran a hand through his red hair. "That's the problem with me."

"Yeah, me too," Kelly stated. "Obviously, or I would've have taken your mask off."

"Do you really mean that or are you just playing me?" he asked.

"A little of both," Kelly confessed with a small smile. "I want you to like me, so you don't shoot me."

He returned her smile, "I'm not going to shoot you. I just don't know how either of us is going to get out of here."

Kelly walked over and sat down next to him. "Okay," she started. "Maybe we can figure that out together." With that, she put the mask on his lap.

///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Hazel was kneeled down by Soraya's side, stroking her black curly hair. She sensed the gunman, Darrell, shift behind her and she half stared at him. She felt him looking at her and she just wanted to jump up and attack him.

Across the room, Sam was looking at Darrell too. "You know what I wish?" she whispered to Jake. "I wish Darrell were here right now." Sam looked back to Darrell. "Because he would know what to do in a situation like this. He would be calm and he would be watchful." All the while, Jake was looking at her, trying to figure out where she was going with this. "But it's a shame he's doing hard labor right now, isn't it?" she continued.

Jake, at last, looked up to where Darrell was standing. At that moment, Jen let out small squeal of pain from her perch on the armrest. Darrell instantly looked at her. Hazel got up, looking at Darrell first. Darrell looked at her and then stepped back. Hazel took the cue and walked over to Jen.

"Hey,…" Hazel said, not sure exactly what to say. "Hey,…just try to breathe through it, ok? If your cramps are being caused by stress and dehydration, it's probably best to stay calm." Jen groaned a little.

"And if it's premature labor, then being calm can't hurt, right?" Jen replied.

"I-- I guess so," Hazel responded. "But it's wonderful that you're having a baby, right? I bet you can't wait to hold your little boy or girl. This is a miracle, ok."

//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

"Hey, did you guys find anything out?" Quinn asked his brothers as they met up on the sidewalk across from the hotel.

"I overheard a few officers saying that there was an equinox briefcase locked in the vault," Nate explained. "And that is what these people are after."

"Equinox?" Adam questioned. Nate nodded.

"Do you know something about it?" Quinn asked him.

Adam nodded and looked toward the hotel lobby, "I think so."

"What are you thinking?" Quinn asked again.

"The briefcase comes with a six-digit key," Adam started explaining. "If it's not entered in correctly every twenty-four hours, then it will destroy all the contents inside."

Quinn looked at the hotel, with a worried expression on his face. Then his eyes landed on a megaphone that was sitting on a police car, an idea started forming in his mind. Without another word to his brothers, Quinn walked past the police barricade, grabbing the megaphone on his way.

"What's this…." Mike murmured, then he yelled to group. "Attention! Stop! Somebody shoot him in the leg!" All officers raised their guns.

"Hey, hey, Stand down!" Ray ordered the officers, he then turned to Mike. "What are you doing? You know, you're acting like you have private knowledge about what's going on in there. Are you working some kind of angle?"

"No, of course not," Mike answered.

"Then, Quinn does what he wants," Ray told him.

"Even if it violates every procedure we have in place?" Mike questioned.

"Yeah, even then," Ray responded.

Meanwhile, Quinn had stopped about halfway to the hotel, clutching the megaphone. He stared at the hotel doors, not sure if was doing the right thing or not.

///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

"Alright," Kelly began, standing up and walking to the other side of the vault. "This is what we're going to do. When we hear this door start to open, you're going to grab your mask and put it back on and grab the briefcase. Stick your gun in my side and I'm going to act all terrified of you." Three looked at her. "Then, uh, once One gets the briefcase, just tell him you're going take me back to the lobby with the rest of the hostages."

"Hopefully, he'll hang out here and make sure whatever he wants is actually in that briefcase," Kelly continued. "Meanwhile, when we get to the office corridor, we're going to go left towards the service entrance, instead going right back to the lobby. And, we'll head out back, where hopefully the cops will be waiting."

"To shoot me," Three added.

"I'm not going to let them shoot you," Kelly insisted.

"You realize your plan can't possibly work," Three informed her.

"Ok, it's a long shot," Kelly said. "But it's better than giving up."

/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

"What are you talking about?" Jake asked Sam, glancing from Darrell to Sam.

"I want you to know that I don't regret one moment I've spent here with you," Sam said. "And I don't regret anything that I have said."

"Nothing's going to happen," Jake assured her.

"If we make it out of here, I'm not sure I ever want to operate again," Amy admitted to Ty.

"We will make it out of here," Ty told her. "And you will operate again, okay?" He looked down at her. "And when we do get out of here, we're going to get married and have a happy life together. Just the two of us and our future children."

"Ty,"

"C'mon, c'mon, think about it," Ty continued. "Imagine, a little girl with long brown hair cantering down the trails, laughing in shrill joy. The happiest child alive and she'll be all ours."

Amy looked up at him smiled.

Suddenly, someone came on a loudspeaker outside. "Hey, Mr. One!"

Flick, along with everybody else in the room turned towards the doors as the sound of the loudspeaker. Flick walked forward a few steps and then stopped.

"This is Quinn Ely!" he continued. "This private party of yours is turning out to be a big waste of time." Flick narrowed his eyes, curiously. "The briefcase that you are so patiently waiting to take out of the vault, it's equipped to self-destruct."

/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

"Alright, so," Kelly was saying as she sat down on the floor. "I'm not exactly what you would call a realist."

"What do you mean?" Three asked her.

"Well, when I want something, I usually just go get it," Kelly explained. "I don't stop and ask myself the important questions like, 'Is this really good for me?' or 'Do I have the right to want this?' I just make it happen for myself."

"So, far I'm not hearing a problem," Three commented.

"Then, I haven't made myself clear," Kelly replied. "Ok, the things, or people, I want, are usually not mine to take. No matter what it costs, who gets hurts, I just do it."

Three scooted toward her a little bit. "What happened exactly?"

Kelly shook her head, "Let's just say that a lot of people got hurt, but….I think I hurt myself the most in the process."

///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

"I know what you want," Quinn spoke again. Flick continued to listen, in silence, no one knew what he was thinking. "I also know you're not going to get it without help. When the briefcase was stashed in the vault, there was a little extra protection added." Everybody in the room, was looking back and forth from the doors to Flick. "The briefcase is an equinox, that's right, an equinox. A state of the art little number with a built-in self-destruct mechanism. That means, holding up in there, waiting for the vault to open is not enough," Flick looked around the room, unfazed, and then back at the doors.

"You need the code," Quinn kept going. "I have it. I'm willing to trade, me and the code for the release of the hostages." Flick took a few more steps forward, towards the door, still not saying anything. Everybody waited tensely for what was to come next.

"I knew this had nothing to do with a robbery," Mike commented from outside.

"I heard the guy outside," Two said as she came back into the room with the female hostage that was taken out earlier. "Why is he being such a hero?"

With arms crossed, Flick answered, "Obviously, he has someone in here at risk," He looked at Jake. "He said his name was Ely." Flick pretended to ponder over it. "Ely. Ely. Ely. Isn't that your name?"

Jake didn't say anything.

"Hey, I'm talking to you," Flick said. "Who's that guy outside to you? Speak up, or mother and baby go bye-bye." With that, all guns trained on Jen.

"He's my brother," Jake stated. Jen breathed a sigh of relief. Flick walked over to Jake and Sam.

"Good boy, you've been such great help," Flick replied reached down and grabbed Sam by back of her neck, pulling her up. "This is only getting started, come on." Jake tried to grab Sam when they walked by, but he was too late.

"We can all get what we want here," Quinn was saying. Suddenly, the hotel doors started to open. The D.A. ordered the team to hold off shooting, when they all poised their guns. The next thing they saw was Sam being dragged out by the ringleader.

Quinn sucked in a breath, "Flick," he mumbled. When the two stopped in the doorway, Flick wrapped an arm around Sam's neck and pressed his gun to her head.

"This is going to be a very simple choice for you, Quinn Ely," Flick said menacingly. Quinn lowered the megaphone. "Give me the code or Sam dies. Simple."

"Do you have a distance mic?" Ray asked the captain of the SWAT team, without moving from position.

"Yes sir,"

"Use it," Ray ordered. "We need to here what's going on in there."

"It's okay, Sam," Quinn soothed, when he saw the scared look on Sam's face, while also trying to keep himself calm. "It's ok. Flick is too smart to shoot you, because killing you will guarantee you'll never get that code. Let her go. Let the other hostages free and I'll come in and I'll give you the code and when that vault opens, you punch it in, you take what you're here for, and get your people out. Everybody's happy."

"I have to question your timing," Flick responded. "Nobody made any attempt to give me the information before, so why are you here now?"

"Well, you see," Quinn started. "Linc is a little tied up right now, you know as well as I do, he's not the best rider here in Darton, and he got stranded out in the desert."

"You're bluffing," Flick called him out on it. "I think that if I want to wait for the vault to open, I'll get what I want and then use the hostages as leverage for my escape, THAT'S what I think."

"You really willing to take that chance?" Quinn questioned him.

"I also think that there's someone inside that means a lot to you," Flick said. "The pregnant young girl, for example. Give me the code or watch Sweet Sam die." He pressed the gun harder into Sam's neck, who trying to keep calm, but was on the verge of losing it. "And then, I'll bring Jennifer out and then you can watch her and the brat that she's gestating die too!"

"It's not working," Griffin said, still aimed to shoot. "He's going to have to give him the code."

At that time, Adam walked up to them and said, "Quinn doesn't know the code."

It was silent.

Jake looked across to where Darrell was standing. _He may not get a clean shot, _Jake reasoned himself. _He could even shoot Sam._ Jake rubbed the back of his neck, worried about what was going to happen. He looked back to Darrell, who was inconspicuously taking aim on Flick with his gun. Hazel sensed his movement and eyed him curiously.

"Oh, come on Flick," Quinn was saying from outside. "You don't want to do this. You're too smart for this."

"What do you think you're doing?" Two questioned Darrell when she walked up to him. Darrell looked away.

"Give him the code, Quinn!" Ty yelled outside as he stood up slowly. "He's already shot two people, he'll kill Sam unless you give him want he wants."

"Finally, the hothead, I believe his name is Ty," Flick replied. "Makes himself useful. He's telling the truth, I will kill her. So, what's it going to be, Mr. Ely."

"The code or Sam's life?"

**A/N:** I am really sorry I keep making you guys wait so long. I really don't mean and I'm going to try and get better at updating. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it. One more thing, whoever can guess the guy in the vault, gets a cookie! (Heartland fans should really know)

Review.


	12. 3 Hours Earlier

**Chapter Eleven**

3 hours earlier- 2 am

"Give me the code or watch Sweet Sam die," Flick threatened. "And then, I'll bring Jennifer out and then you can watch her and the brat that she's gestating die too!"

"It's not working," Griffen said, still aimed to fire. "He's going to have to give up the code."

"Quinn doesn't know the code," Adam told him as he and Nate walked up to them, to get a better look.

It was silent.

Jake looked across to where Darrell was standing. _He may not get a clean shot, _Jake reasoned himself. _He could even shoot Sam._ Jake rubbed the back of his neck, worried about what was going to happen. He looked back to Darrell, who was inconspicuously taking aim on Flick with his gun. Hazel sensed his movement and eyed him curiously.

"Oh, come on Flick," Quinn was saying from outside. "You don't want to do this. You're too smart for this."

"What do you think you're doing?" Two questioned Darrell when she walked up to him. Darrell took a step back and looked away.

"Give him the code, Quinn!" Ty yelled outside as he stood up slowly. "He's already shot two people, he'll kill Sam unless you give him what he wants."

"Finally, the hothead, I believe his name is Ty," Flick replied. "Makes himself useful. He's telling the truth, I will kill her. So, what's it going to be, Mr. Ely."

"The code or Sam's life?"

"He'll shoot her," Adam said to D.A. Mike. "The man's completely ruthless."

"Oh, come on, Flick," Quinn reasoned. "You don't want to do this, you're too smart for this. Don't shoot her, let her go." Flick's finger hovered over the safety. "I'll take her place, I'll give you the code…."

"Game over." Flick switched off the safety.

Sam screamed.

"7-2-2!" Quinn quickly blurted out three numbers. "2-8-5. That's the code. That will…open the briefcase."

"Cover your people, now," Two was telling Darrell. He looked down at his three people and then turned his attention back to Flick.

"If the briefcase in question is actually an equinox and if the code works," Flick told Quinn. "Sam may survive, at least you would have seen her one last time. Be grateful for that." And without saying anything else, Flick dragged Sam back inside the lobby and closed the doors.

"Any chance that Quinn actually told him the right code?" Mike asked Adam.

Adam sighed and shook his head.

Nate, who had been trying to figure the code out the whole time, spoke up, "The first three numbers are correct," He felt his brother and the D.A. look at him. "But no one knows the rest of the code."

/

"You should be very grateful to your friend," Flick told Sam, as they stopped in front of Ty, and still holding her by the neck. "For his effective, yet overly-dramatic appeal to your boyfriend's brother." He leaned down close to her face. "Say thank you,"

Sam glanced at Flick from the corner of her eye, "Thank you, Ty,"

"Good girl," Flick replied. "If Mr. Ely hadn't given me the code, I think our Sam would be dead at the moment. What a waste. She is one of my more amusing hostages." He pushed her into Ty and walked away.

Ty caught her. "It's ok, it's ok," Ty tried to soothe her, while watching Flick walk over to Two and Five. Jake looked too. Sam sat back down next to him.

"What's happening?" she asked him.

"The woman saw Darrell line up a shot at Flick," Jake answered.

"Five got distracted by the scene at the door," Two explained to Flick, who was looking from one to the other. "So did half of our other people. They're starting to get sloppy."

Flick looked at Darrell, "Are you tired, Five?"

Darrell shook his head no and looked down at the floor.

"Are you having second thoughts on our assignment?" Flick continued to question him.

"Flick," Jake called from the other side of the room, he stood up. Flick turned and looked at him. "You need to rethink your exit strategy."

/

"Mommy,"

The voice was small and quiet, but Tim still heard it. He walked up to the side of the gurney she was lying on and took her small hand in his. He kissed it softly before speaking.

"Hey, sweetie," Tim spoke in a soft voice to keep the little girl calm. "Mommy's not here right now, but I am…" He motioned to somebody by the curtain. "And so is grandma. She's going to take care of you, while I go get your mommy."

"Hi, Holly," Helena greeted. "How are you feeling?"

Holly touched her left hand to the bandage on her right arm, "My arm hurts,"

Just than, a doctor came into the cubicle and introduced himself as Dr. Ethan Lawton. "Hey, Holly, glad to see you're awake," Holly just looked at him.

"When can she leave?" Tim asked the doctor.

"Well, everything seems to be fine," Ethan explained. "We found nothing major, all you have to do is sign the papers and she's free to go." With a smile to Holly, he left.

"Ok, sweetie," Tim leaned over and kissed Holly on her forehead. "Be good for grandma,"

/

"Well, can you think of any reason why I shouldn't have you arrested?" Mike asked Quinn when he had walked sullenly back to the police, megaphone low at his side.

"I won't apologize for trying to get my family out of there," Quinn told him.

"Yes, unfortunately, though," Mike said. "Quinn, it didn't work."

"Yeah, but, at least now you understand Flick's game," Quinn replied. "He's waiting for the vault to open. When it does, if the briefcase hasn't already…self-destructed, he'll punch in my code…and it won't work." Quinn looked down at the ground.

"Oh, yeah," Mike responded. "And the contents of the briefcase will explode, Flick doesn't get what he wants. What do you think he's going to do to the hostages then?"

"You've got til the vault opens to get them out," Quinn stated.

"Oh, we're aware of that," Mike retorted.

"You took a chance, it didn't work," Ray broke in. "Now, let us handle it." He walked away from the group, Mike followed him. Adam and Nate walked up to their brother.

"It almost worked," Nate said first.

"I should of let you run the bluff," Quinn confessed. "You probably could of bluffed him better than I could. I folded, and now Sam and our little brother is going to pay the price."

/

"I'm not interested in another grandstand play, Jake Ely," Flick told him as he walked over to Jake.

"I don't blame you," Jake said. "Your hands are full running an all-night hostage crisis, when it was supposed to be a five-minute robbery. Your team must be exhausted by now, plus you're surrounded by trigger-happy cops with unlimited firepower."

"The point, Mr. Ely," Flick interrupted, getting impatient.

"The point," Jake continued. "Quinn was telling the truth," Flick looked at him and then stalked off without saying a word.

/

"Focus on the assignment," the woman ordered Darrell. When she walked away, Darrell stepped forward to where Jen and Hazel were now sitting on the floor next to the couch.

"Just- just hold on, ok?" Hazel was saying. "Keep breathing, you're almost through it."

"Thank you," Jen breathed.

Hazel glanced at her and asked, "Are you feeling better?"

Jen didn't say anything.

/

"Quinn and I are brothers, we grew up together," Jake was still saying, Flick stood in front of him, silent. "He would not risk anyone's life with an empty bluff. If he says the shipment's in an equinox briefcase with an armed self-destruct timer, it is. And I'm sure it is because whoever sent it would try to protect it from someone like you."

"If it's an equinox, and I doubt about that," Flick stated calmly. "Once the vault opens, I can secure the briefcase, enter the code, and disarm it."

"What if whatever's in the briefcase has already been destroyed?" Jake questioned him. "The cops know you're waiting for the vault to open, they know to the minute when that's going to happen. They're anticipating your every move, Flick."

"So far, I'm not hearing anything I don't already know."

"They have you sitting here waiting to get your hands on something that's probably already in ashes." Jake said. "But you can - you can gain back the element of surprise by leaving."

"Without the briefcase?" Flick asked dubiously, crossing his arms.

"You won't get what you came for, but you will get away with your life," Jake answered.

"You make a compelling argument," Flick mused. His gun fired. Jake pulled Sam to the floor, before she could get hit. "Now tell your boyfriend to keep his mouth shut. Now is a bad time to start second-guessing me."

"Our team is committed to seeing this through," Six told Flick. "If Mr. Ely won't cooperate, there's an easy solution." He grabbed Sam. "Five, take her to the office."

"If there's any noise coming from the room or any sign of trouble, kill her." Flick ordered.

/

"Wyatt, come on," Brynna tried to calm her husband down. "You're trying to protect your little girl, right?"

"Well, I'm doing a damn poor job at it," Wyatt said, eyes glued to the building as he shifted from foot to foot.

"Flick, didn't shoot Sam," Brynna reminded him, putting a reassuring hand on his arm. "That mean she must still be valuable to him."

"Once he realizes Quinn gave him a bogus code, he'll make an example out of her." Wyatt said. He shrugged off her hand and moved closer to the squad cars.

"Oh, he has to get the vault open before he can even get the briefcase," Brynna replied, walking up behind her husband. "You know, it's going to be hours before the vault will open. Something could change."

/

Commissioner Ray walked up to Griffen and two other officers. He handed Griffen a slip of paper. "I got a judge to sign off on a search warrant for Slocum's house. It's well known Flick lived and worked there. Get a forensics team over there, go through his bank records, computer, his safe."

"Anything that begins with 7-2-2." Griffen nodded, looking at the search warrant.

"If we can give Flick the correct code, maybe he'll stop shooting hostages," Ray explained. Then he ushered the three of them off. "Go on." The three officers hurried away.

"You're grasping at straws, Ray," District Attorney Mike stated the obvious walking up behind Ray. Ray turned around and looked at the other man.

"You got any better ideas?" Ray asked him, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Yeah, maybe I do," Mike answered.

/

Darrell pulled Sam down the hallway, all the while he could tell that Sam was resisting him the whole time. But she kept quiet. She only let out a small squeal when he nudged her into the office. He closed the door once they were both safely inside. The office was small with a large desk directly in front of them, sitting in front a large window. Bookcases and file cabinets lined two of the other walls. The last wall had a plush couch along it. Before Darrell could say anything, Sam turned on him.

"So now what?" she demanded, throwing her hands up. "We wait around for some random sound so you have an excuse to shoot me?""Just calm down, ok?" Darrell told her, coming toward her and in one swift motion, he took off the mask. "Nobody's going to shoot you,"

Sam stared in disbelief for a moment, until hysteria claimed her. She gave Darrell a huge shove despite her small frame. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

"Sam, stop," Darrell said, in a calm, rational tone, capturing her arms. "I need you to calm down."By now, tears were flowing down her face, but she didn't stop trying to break his hold on her. "Jake told me you're here and I kept waiting for you to do something, to shoot Flick, or make him stop somehow, but you let him drag me out in front of my dad and threaten to shoot me? And my dad was scared and he's never afraid, which means he was scared for me!"

"Please, just calm down," Darrell said.

"Ok, fine," Sam stepped back, wiping the tears from her eyes. "Fine, what is the plan?"

"Ok," Darrell put his hands down. "Quinn was telling the truth up to a point about the briefcase. There is a self-destruct mechanism. It has a six-digit code that has to be re-entered every 24 hours. Problem is, no one knows the code.""Ok, so Quinn lied to Flick?" Sam asked, trying to make sense of everything Darrell had just told her. She sat down the couch.

"Yes," Darrell stayed standing.

"And then what happens when Flick finds out that the code doesn't work?" Sam had a feeling she already knew the answer.

"That's why I'm getting you out of here now before he has to make good on his threat to kill you."

/

"The police know when that vault is supposed to open," Matt whispered to Hazel, but keep his eyes on Soraya, his hand clutching hers. "They have to get in here before that."

"We need to move fast," Hazel whispered, while casually glancing around the room full of hostages and gunmen. "When we get a chance, you grab Soraya, I'm going to get Jen."

"Wait, are we going- how do we get past these guards?" Matt asked glancing over at Hazel.

"I don't know, but I can't carry her out of here, and I'm not leaving her." Hazel confessed.

"That's exactly what you should do," came the hoarse voice. It was Soraya.

/

"Sam,"

Darrell was leading Sam down the back hallways toward the exit at the back at the building. Sam recognized the voice before she even turned around and saw Ryan Slocum standing there. All of a sudden, Darrell lunged and pinned Ryan against the wall.

"How did you get in here?" he hissed.

"The same way you did," Ryan said calmly, his thick British accent evident. "I didn't trust that you'll get my wife out first and safe. I knew you'd have some agenda that could very well get Jennifer killed."

Darrell growled, how could he possibly think that he would do anything to hurt Jen. He pushed Ryan harder against the wall. Then, he sighed, this wasn't going to get them anywhere. He let Ryan go. "It actually works out that you're here," Ryan looked at him curiously. "Take Sam back the way you came, go to the cops, and you tell them everything that we know, ok?"

Ryan hesitated, then nodded. "Ok,"

"Wait, wait, wait, wait- what about you?" Sam asked quickly. "If Flick realizes that I'm gone, he's going to know that you're a plant."

"That's not your problem," Darrell told her.

"Well, Jake is in there," Sam didn't give in.

"We don't have time to argue, Sam," Darrell tried to rein in his frustration, but he was having a hard time doing so.

"Do you think he's going to flip out?" she questioned. "He has plastique taped all over the wall and someone has the detonator."

"I don't have time to argue with you. You're going with Ryan- that's it, ok?" Darrell directed. "I'm going to check around the corner and make sure it's clear." He put his mask back on and walked off.

Sam and Ryan waited a few minutes and then Ryan took her hand. "Let's go," They hadn't gone that far, when Flick came into view. Darrell quickly grabbed both Sam and Ryan.

"What the hell's going on?" he demanded. .

"Get away from him!" Sam screamed.

"I was most unhappy when I found out that you and sweet Sam were missing from the office, but now I'm pleased," Flick spoke to Darrell. "I assumed someone would try to infiltrate the building. You did well to catch him and hold on to the hostage. Nice work, five. However, our intruder is not at all what I expected."

"My father is a very influential person, I wouldn't try-" Ryan started, but Flick interrupted him by yanking him by the arm.

"Come here," he looked to Darrell. "Shoot him."

"No, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait!" Sam screamed again. "Ryan knows how to get into the vault!"

/

_Amy gasped as Ty held a glinting ring out to her. She looked down. It was exquisite- a silver ring with a tiny pair of hands holding a heart in its' center. The heart was topped by a small crown._

"_It's a claddagh ring," Ty explained, running the tip of his finger over the metal. "It's an old Irish symbol of friendship…and love. If your heart is free, you wear the heart facing outward. But if your heart belongs to someone, you wear it facing in."_

_Her heart fluttering, Amy slid the delicate ring onto her finger, making sure the heart faced inward._

"_Just something to remember me by," Ty added._

_Amy felt tears welling up- tears of happiness and sorrow all mixed in together. She swallowed hard and brushed them away, staring at the ring on her finger and then up at Ty's loving face. She leaned across the seat and threw her arms around his neck, burying her face in her jacket._

"_Oh, Ty," she whispered. "I don't need something to remember you by. I'll always be thinking of you. Every minute." She felt as though she never wanted to move from that spot, with Ty holding her, his fingers stroking her neck. But she pulled back and smiled, staring deep into his gentle green eyes._

"_But I love it," she whispered, wiping the tears from her cheeks. "This is the most beautiful thing anyone has ever given me." She took a deep breath. "And I'll always wear it, no matter what. My heart will always belong to you."_

"Hey, you ok?" Ty asked gently, breaking into Amy's thoughts. His arm was around her and she found herself leaning into him.

"Yeah," she answered. "I was just thinking about how fast things change."

"Look at me," Ty said. Amy looked up at met his gaze, his green eyes searching her gray ones. "We're going to live through this, I promise."

/

"You've already gone above and beyond to save me," Soraya rasped, her throat dry.

"Then why would we leave you behind?" Matt questioned, moving some of her black curls from her face.

"Because I would slow you down," Soraya pressed on.

"Don't you know it's bad manners to leave behind a lady with a bullet in her?" Matt tried to joke.

"Forget about me, ok?" Soraya persisted. "If you do get a chance to get out of here, run. And don't look back."

"You'll all be happy to know that Sam is still alive," Flick announced when he came back into the room with Sam, Ryan, and Darrell. "And I have some good news. For those anticipating a rescue party-someone named Ryan has arrived. He made a brave and valiant effort to save the day, and now he's going to die." Flick aimed his gun at Ryan.

"No, no, no, don't shoot him!" Sam stopped him. "I told you he can open the vault."

Flick stared at her.

"Flick, you get inside that vault early, you'll gain the advantage, and the element of surprise." Jake said. "Ryan has been hacking into his father's safes for years, he's certainly gain the experience and knowledge to tamper with anything electronic."

"But can he open the hotel vault?" Flick questioned looking at Ryan, then to Jake and back again.

"I'm-I'm not sure," Ryan hesitated.

"Get sure," Flick said bluntly, walking toward him, gun drawn.

"Look, state-of-the-art vaults in emergency lockdown mode could be no problem for me," Ryan quickly replied. "Just show me to a computer." In an unsaid order, one of the men grabbed both Ryan and Sam and led them to the front desk, where a computer sat.

"I'm so sorry," Sam whispered to Ryan. She already regretted opening her mouth and getting Ryan into this.

"Ok," Ryan began. "When a guy crashes in to rescue you, you're supposed to go with him."

"I didn't mean for you to get caught," Sam admitted.

"No-I forgive you," Ryan told her. "But next time Darrell says run, we run, ok?"/

"If this computer genius is as good as Jake claims, then he'll open the vault and we'll all go home," Matt said. He sat with his side leaning into the couch, closer to Soraya.

"I'd say you're a liar, but that'd be bad manners," Soraya managed a joke.

_She's getting weaker_, Matt thought grimly to himself.

/

"I'll guard them," Six told Darrell, who was standing by Sam and Ryan. "I want you by the door." A little reluctantly, Darrell did as he was told.

"Why doesn't Darrell just shoot Flick?" Ryan wondered out loud, glancing up to where Darrell was walking over to the front door.

"Because this place is wired," Sam explained. "One of the guards has the detonator, and we don't know which one."

"Oh," Ryan said, turning back to the computer. "That explains it."

/

"I'm feeling better now," Jen said, sitting back. "My cramps are subsiding, thank you."

Hazel put a hand on her arm, "Hey, you want to thank me? Take care of that baby."

/

"We may be running out of time," Ty told Amy. "If Ryan gets that vault open and the code is no good, or the briefcase is destroyed, then things are going to get real ugly. Do you know where the service entrance is from here?"

"I think it's through those doors back there," Amy answered, looking him, questioningly.

"Ok, you need to get there as fast as you can," Ty said. "I'm talking fast, like there is a dozen horses trapped in a burning stable. Don't stop, just keep going."

"What about you?" Amy asked, her heart started thumping hard. She already knew she wasn't going to like this answer.

"If I get out of here alive, I'll-" Ty hesitated. "I'll find you."

/

Griffen walked up to Commissioner Ray with his report of their findings in Slocum's house. "The vault won't open until 5:30 this morning. And when it does, we got to be ready to move."

Ray nodded solemnly, "It may be our only chance to get all the hostages out."

Behind them, the three Ely brothers stood listening. Quinn looked at this two brothers, their faces were the same expressions that he was feeling.

"They won't be able to save all the hostages with just themselves," Quinn spoke their fears. "They're going to need some help."

Adam and Nate both nodded.

/

"Did you know I had a crush on you years ago?" Matt asked her, trying to think of happier memories, anything than what was going on right now.

"What?" Soraya let a small, strangled laugh. "I think you have me confused with someone else. Everyone knows, you had a crush on _Amy_."

"Doesn't mean, I didn't notice you," Matt confessed. "When you surprised me in that park with the kiss, I-"

"Matt, I'm already shot," Soraya stopped him. "Please don't embarrass me on top of it."

"I love you,"

/

"Mr. Slocum." Flick was annoyed, everyone could tell as the computer beeped in the background. "How long till you get that vault open?"

"Um- well, it's a- it's a triply encrypted algorithm, so-"

"Meaning?" Flick sighed.

"I'm working on it." Ryan answered.

"You're a slacker, Mr. Slocum," Flick admonished. "You need motivation. So if you don't open that vault with at least one hour to spare-which means by 4:30 am- One of the hostages- how about Sam?" He pointed his gun to Sam. "Will die."

**A/N: Ok, there this is finally posted. I am truly very sorry for the incredible long wait. Hopefully, there are still a few of you reading this. Please review, they make me really happy.**


	13. 2 Hours Earlier

**Chapter Twelve**

2 hours earlier- 3 am

"Sit," Brynna instructed her husband when they entered the small coffee shop. "I'll order us some coffee." After making sure Wyatt actually sat down, Brynna turned and walked to the counter. Wyatt sighed, and dropped his head into his hands. He knew coffee wasn't going to make him feel better, having his daughter walk through that door-unharmed- would make him feel better.

Brynna came back to the table with two steaming cups of coffee. She set one down in front of him. Wyatt just stared into the cup. Brynna reached across the table and took his hand.

"She's going to be ok," Brynna assured him, but Wyatt heard the tinge of uncertainty in her voice. At that moment, Brynna's cell phone rang. Wyatt looked up as she answered it. "Hello?…What's wrong?…..I see, ok, I'll be there as soon as I can." She hung up.

"Sam?" Wyatt asked expectedly.

"No," Brynna shook her head. "That was Grace. Strawberry ran Ace into the pasture fence, he's fine, just a gash on his right shoulder, he's in the barn now. But Strawberry was getting the other horses are wired up, so Dallas put her inside also and that's when they noticed. Tempest somehow slipped out of the barn corral. They haven't gotten her yet, but she's still on the ranch." Brynna paused to take a breath. "Grace would help, but Cody's up and he's being fussier than usual."

"Go on over and help them out," Wyatt told her when she had finished.

Brynna looked at him and then nodded, "Are you going to be ok?"

"Yeah, I'm just going to head back to the hotel." Wyatt answered. He watched his wife get up from the table and walk towards the exit. Brynna looked at her husband one last time before pushing the door open and walking out.

* * *

"Does anyone have any idea how Darrell managed to break into that hotel?" Adam asked his brothers from where they sitting on a stoop of a house. Except Quinn who was pacing. They all shrugged their shoulders or shook their heads.

"Quinn, do you mind sitting down?" Bryan asked his brother. "You're making me dizzy."

"Well, I can't help it," Quinn all but snapped. "Sitting down makes me nervous. Besides, I keep replaying Sam and the look she had on her face when Flick held her at gunpoint. If I hadn't….."

"Hey, no worries," Adam assured his younger brother. "Sam's a fighter, there's no way she'll let that son-of-a-gun take advantage of her."

"The service entrance!" Nate shouted, but then flinched as he realized how loud he had just said that. He looked at his brothers' confused faces as they turned to look at him. "I can't believe I didn't realize it sooner. Darrell went inside from the rear service entrance." Identical mischievous grins broke out onto the Ely brothers' faces as realization finally dawned on them.

* * *

"Small enough to fit in a briefcase and worth a lot of money," Kelly thought out loud from where she sat cross-legged on the floor of the vault with the briefcase in front of her. "Do you think it's something you could wear?" She looked toward her captor and the only other person in the vault with her.

"I don't know," Will Savage said shaking his head a little. He sat with his back against the shelves, still holding his gun.

"Well, you were willing to risk your life for whatever's in this briefcase, so don't you want to know what it is?" Kelly questioned him. "I do." She turned back to the briefcase and reached toward it.

"Don't." Will stopped her. Kelly's hand snapped back to her chest. "Don't touch it."

"Why not?" she asked.

"The case is on a timer," Will explained. "We don't know when it's supposed to self-destruct and don't want to see you get hurt."

* * *

"Being in here has made me realize just how fragile life is. Just one moment could change everything you know, and…..love," Ty reached up and touched Amy's cheek. Amy looked up at him and the look she saw in his eyes, scared her. It was a look of uncertainty, worry, and fear. "Amy, I want you to know just how important you are to me and how much I love you."

Amy reached out and took Ty's free hand, "Ty-"

"No, Amy, we have to be realistic. If one of us doesn't make it out of here, we have to promise to continue the work at Heartland, no matter how much it hurts." Ty let out a long breath and dropped his hand from her face.

"Ty, let's not…." Amy started, but stopped, pulling her eyes from him.

"What?" Ty asked pulling her gaze back to him.

"I'm not going to promise that," Amy told him. "Because we are both making it out of here alive, promise me that."

Ty was silent for a moment and then said, "I promise,"

-

"I know him," Jen breathed to Hazel, nodding subtly in Darrell's direction. "He's my friend, dressed as one of the guards, over there by the door." Hazel followed her gaze.

"Would you like to share with me what has the two of you so captivated?" Flick asked appearing between the two women, making them jump.

* * *

"God, it's like a sauna in here," Kelly said, pulling her hair off the back of her neck and fanning herself. She looked over at Will. "You know, the least you could do is thank me."

"What for?" Will asked her, shifting his position.

"Well, you have to be a lot cooler without that mask on," Kelly answered.

"Why don't I return the favor?" Will said, with that, he handed her an old-fashioned fan.

"You found a fan?" Kelly gaped at him and the admired the unique design on the fan. "It's gorgeous. How much do you think its worth?"

"As long as it moves the air around, I could care less." Will commented.

"Oh," Kelly looked down at the fan. "Seriously, I would give anything to be standing in the water right now with a cool breeze coming off the ocean, a margarita in my hand. Oh," She looked back up at Will. "You know, if I get out of this alive, I'm heading straight for the airport and catching the first flight to Cancun. What about you? What are you going to do?"

"I don't know," Will shrugged.

"You don't know?" Kelly asked. "There has to be something you want to do with all the money you're going to get from this job?"

"It's not like I'm the one that's going to be spending it," Will told her.

"Who will be?" Kelly asked, leaning forward.

"My girlfriend,"

* * *

"I heard some movement outside, and I was hoping the swat team was getting ready to come in here and blow your head off," Hazel said, automatically.

"You know, this impulsive streak of yours must keep your boyfriend on his toes," Flick straightened up. "But I should warn you that you should be wise to exercise some restraint. After all, you have eight demerits."

"Demerits?" Jen asked, fear settling deep in her stomach.

"Oh, well, did I fail to mention that we're all operating on a point system here?" Flick asked the whole lobby. "Each act of willful disobedience gets a demerit. Hazel has four, for hitting the silent alarm and locking up the vault, two more for trying to take the mask off my head without my permission, and two more for pulling that stunt with the knife. I should warn you, Hazel, 10 demerits and you die. We have less than three hours before the vault opens. Would anyone please tell Hazel what will happen if a swat team comes to do an extraction of hostages before the vault opens? Anybody? Please? Speak up, or she gets two more demerits."

"The lobby's rigged with explosives on a 60-second delay," Amy spoke up. "If the swat teams tries to enter the lobby, you would trigger the detonator before we had a chance to escape."

"Oh, wow. Bravo, Amy," Flick said. "Two credits and a gold star. I was hoping you'd become the teachers' pet."

Lou moved closer to Scott, when she saw him move a little bit. "Hey, how are you feeling?" she asked her husband in a low voice.

"A little better," Scott answered hoarsely. "I think I can sit up for a bit," Scott started to sit up, but he struggled.

"Here," Lou said, helping Scott move to a sitting position. Then, one of the gunmen, Seven, stepped toward them.

"Show me your hands." Seven ordered.

"Hey, I was just helping my husband to sit up," Lou snapped at him. "Nothing lethal."

"Tough it out." Seven told Scott.

"Ok, so, what is it exactly that you're doing?" Sam asked Ryan as she looked over his shoulder to peer at the laptop.

"I'm looping the mainframe to override the emergency sequence that shutdown the vault," Ryan explained, glancing at Sam once before returning to look at the screen.

"Ok, but you're not seriously going to open the vault early, are you?" Sam questioned him.

"I mean, come on, Flick didn't give much of a choice," Ryan said. "Either I get him in there by 4:30, or…..you're toast."

Flick walked over to Darrell, "Keep an eye on Mr. Ely," he ordered him. "I need to talk to Six." Darrell gave a curt nod and walked over to Jake.

Without looking at him, Darrell spoke in a whisper, "Quinn gave Flick the wrong code,"

"Did you get the right one?" Jake, too, whispered to what seem like the whole room, but only Darrell could hear him.

"Uh-uh," Darrell shook his head, inconspicuously.

"Get Sam out of here," Jake told his friend. As if she had heard from all the way across the room, Sam looked right at Jake. Her eyes told him everything he needed to know. Sam was going to go without a fight. "Whatever it takes."

* * *

"How could you take a job that could get you killed when you have someone waiting for you at home?" Kelly asked Will, fanning herself with the fan.

"It's not like that," Will answered. "I mean, no strings, no commitments."

"Don't you want to be with someone who cares about you?" Kelly questioned him.

"It's easier when there's no expectations," Will said simply.

"Oh," Kelly replied. "So, you have no problem with being used?"

"Well, we're using each other," Will told her. "I mean, the difference is, we're upfront about it. I mean, not like that guy you were with. You deserve better."

"Now you sound like my step dad and my sister," Kelly said, stretching her legs out in front of her.

"You talk about them a lot," Will noted. "But you barely talk about your mom."

"Yeah, well, my mom hasn't been around a lot," Kelly sighed. "In some ways, she's a lot like you. Hates to be tied down, always looking for something better."

"What's wrong with that?" Will asked, pulling his leg up and resting his arm on top of it.

"Nothing at all if you want to end up alone," Kelly replied. "But I don't. I want to fall in love with someone and have it last. Just once."

* * *

"You can get Sam out of here. All you have to do is wait till Flick leaves the lobby again, walk her towards the offices and get her out the back," Jake was telling Darrell. "If we can figure out the code, we can use it as leverage against Flick."

"7-2-2," Darrell supplied the first three numbers for Jake. "Do those numbers mean anything to you?"

"No,"

"It'd be better for all the hostages if the briefcase stayed in the vault," Sam told Ryan, while keeping one eye on Jake and Darrell. She'd really rather be over there with them, helping in whatever they were planning.

"My mission was for Jen, not them," Ryan said bluntly, his eyes briefly on troubled Jen before going back to the computer screen once again.

"Well, what about me?" Sam questioned him. "Don't you care what happens to me?"

"Jake won't let anything happen to you," Ryan replied. "Just like I'm not going to let anything happen to Jen."

"If the briefcase is an equinox, then Linc could have reset the timer," Flick said to Six. "It could have self-destructed in the vault."

"It'll be fine," Six reassured his boss.

"Do you know how much money we could lose if the contents were reduced to ashes?" Flick asked him, running a hand through his hair.

"When the vault is opened, it's going to be chaos in here," Hazel explained to Jen. "You're not going to have time to think. You need to run straight to your friend and he'll get you out."

"What about you?" Jen asked her.

"I'm going to be ok," Hazel assured her. "You need a doctor, the priority is you and your baby."

"You are becoming a dangerous liability, one that I can't afford," Flick said as he strode over to Jake. "It's time to separate you from the flock before the rest of the sheep go astray. Six-" Six grabbed Jake by the arm and pulled him up.

"Bring Sweet Sam along," Flick instructed as well. "That'll give her a chance to say goodbye to her boyfriend. If Hazel does anything to earn her last two demerits, hold off on her punishment. I'll do the honors myself." With that, he followed Six, Jake, and Sam out of the room.

* * *

"The service entrance should be right….ow, Quinn watch where you're going!" Nate was leading his brothers around the back of the hotel, where he was sure the service entrance was.

"Sorry, it's dark out here and I can't feel my feet," Quinn apologized.

"Guys, I hate to be the one to bring this up, but we don't have a key for this door," Adam broke in. "And even if we do magically find a way in, what can we possibly do that the police haven't been able to do?"

"Adam, if you don't feel up to this, feel free to leave," Nate said, turning to face his brother. "We're here," He nodded toward the service entrance.

"And we're in luck," Quinn smirked. "Darrell left the door open a crack."

* * *

"No flirtatious comment?" Sam asked Flick as he led the two of them into a back office. "Don't tell me your mood's gone south just like your exit plan."

"It's possible to be too clever for your own good," Flick replied, shutting the door behind them. "Just ask your boyfriend."

"You weren't worried about the hostage revolt," Jake spoke up. "You wanted me here, because you need me, after all."

"I think you two should take this opportunity to say your goodbyes, because I found out that I don't need you, Jake Ely." Flick contradicted. "Someone will be back to put a bullet in both your heads." He turned and started for the door.

"That would be the biggest mistake you could make, Flick," Jake warned him. "Because you need me to get into that briefcase."

"You're bluffing," Flick stopped moving.

"You better hope not," Jake continued. "I'm the only chance you got to get what you came for. I know-I know the code." Sam snapped her gaze to Jake, but Jake ignored her.

"So do I, thanks to your brother," Flick said turned around to face them.

"Quinn would've said anything to keep you from killing Sam," Jake replied. "He gave you six numbers, right? But not the code to disarm the briefcase."

"We'll see," Flick gestured Six to follow him. "Come on." He and Six disappeared through the door and locked the door behind them, leaving both Sam and Jake in there alone.

"What are we going to do now?" Sam asked, throwing her hands up in hopelessness. "You don't know the code anymore than Quinn did."

"You know it," Jake said.

"What are you talking about?" Sam asked again, flopping down the leather couch that was in the office. "I don't know it."

"You spent more time with Ryan than I ever cared to," Jake explained, walking over to sit down next to Sam. "Your best friend is married to him, surely you heard or saw something."

"He never told me or Jen a six-digit code for programming exploding briefcases, Jake!" Sam told him, frustrated.

* * *

"Matt?"

"Soraya? Hey, how are you feeling?" Matt asked in a whisper, holding onto Soraya's hand.

"Uh….pain's back," Soraya groaned. "It's just it's-I don't know. It's different than before."

"Oh, like it's coming from far away," Soraya rasped, her voice breaking up every other word.

"You just need to hang on a little longer, ok?" Joni said from beside Matt.

"You know how much blood I lost in me," Soraya said to Matt.

"Soraya, you're going to live," Matt told her, holding her hand with both of his and giving it a kiss. "You've come too far to give up now."

Jen tried to stifle another moan when Darrell knelt down between her and Hazel. "If anything goes wrong and you get a chance, you head straight for the door," he told her. "Hazel, warn the police."

"No," Hazel said.

"Just wait for my signal," Darrell continued, ignoring Hazel's protest, and discreetly handing her a ski mask.

"Oh, isn't this cozy," Flick said as came back into the lobby, heading straight for Jen, Hazel, and Darrell. "If I were you, I'd be very, very careful," he told Darrell. "You see, Hazel is a treacherous little thing. One minute she's smiling at you, and the other, she's slitting your throat. Go check on the computer kid's progress and remind him that's he on a deadline to open the vault."

He turned to Hazel. "You trying to work my team?"

"It's-It's not Hazel's fault," Jen jumped to Hazel's defense. "I was just asking for some water."

"Well, then, I'm going to have to punish you," Flick straightened up. "From now on, I'm going to make you responsible for her behavior. If she steps out of line, you get her demerits, and believe me, they add up very quickly. So I think it would be in your best interest and your child's to discourage Hazel from cooking up any mischief. Do I make myself clear?"

"How is it going?" Darrell asked Ryan, when he approached him at the front desk.

"Um-ok. I-" Ryan quickly glanced at him and then back at the computer screen so not to raise suspicions. "I generated algorithm to reset the internal timer. I'm tricking the vault to open early."

"Wow, you really are the assassin of cyberspace," Darrell said, amazed.

"I appreciate your praise," Ryan replied. "But it is not necessary."

"So if you can trick the vault to open early, can you do the exact reverse?" Darrell asked him.

"Only with, like, two clicks of a button," Ryan looked at Darrell. "Why?"

"Because we need to stall," Darrell explained. "There's no way that Flick is going to keep you all alive once he gets his hands on the briefcase."

* * *

"So what were you doing here tonight?" Will asked Kelly as he stood up to stretch his legs. His gun still lay on the floor of the vault.

"I work at the boutique," Kelly answered. "It's the only store in town that sells couture."

"Oh, right-fashion," Will said moving from one wall to the next.

"High-end fashion, all the hottest designers," Kelly corrected him.

"Do you like working retail?" Will stopping walking and stared at her.

"Well, it's not like I have a lot of options," Kelly moved a piece of honey blonde hair behind her ear. "I'm not smart like my sister or driven like my mom. Pretty much, the only thing I've been good at is lying, which is exactly why this job is perfect for me. I have no problem telling people why they need to buy some extremely expensive outfit that really should be worn by an anorexic model from Milan. And, who knows? Maybe in a few years, I'll make manager."

"Why would you want to do that when you could be so much more?" Will questioned her as he sat down next to her.

* * *

Bryan Ely stood outside, behind the police barricade, staring at the building. Wondering if his brothers made it into the lobby and what the heck was going on in there? _This is dangerous. _Bryan thought to himself. _I shouldn't have let them go in. They're going to get themselves killed or the hostages killed. I shouldn't have let them go._

"Bryan Ely!"

Bryan flinched at his mother's shrill voice and turned to face her approach. She was steaming mad, now he wished he had gone with his brothers. At least, he wouldn't have to face this by himself.

"Mom, what are you doing here?" Bryan asked. "Where's dad?"

"Your father's back at the ranch, where you should be. Not here getting in the way!" Maxine scolded her son. "Where are your brothers?" She looked, searching the crowd of onlookers and police officers for her three remaining sons.

Bryan didn't say anything, instead he looked down at the ground.

"Don't tell me, they went into that building?" Maxine asked her son, afraid to know the answer.

Bryan only looked at her.

* * *

"Nate, are you sure you know where we're going?" Quinn asked his brother as they went quietly down one of the back hallways. "It feels like we've been walking forever and we're not getting anywhere."

"Shhh," Nate quieted him. "Trust me."

Suddenly, Nate stopped and push his two brothers back around the corner. He pressed a finger to his mouth, telling them to keep quiet. Nate looked out around the corner in time to see a man dressed in black, wearing a ski mask, enter one of the rooms. After a minute or two, he came back out and disappeared down the hall he'd come.

"This way," Nate told his brothers.

* * *

"There's no way we're going to be able to figure out that code," Sam said. They were both now tied to chairs, back to back. One of Flick's men had come back into the room to do the honors, obviously following Flick's orders.

"Did Linc have a plane or a yacht, or maybe a car with the numbers 7-2-2?" Jake asked, ignoring what Sam had said.

"Not that I know of, no," Sam answered, sliding her foot along the carpet to where the phone cord was dangling off a table a few feet away. "Just because I spend time with Ryan does not mean I'm buddy-buddy with his father. I hate his guts."

"Ok, you didn't want to go with Darrell, so you're going to have to just, you know-"

"Darrell is not just going to take me and leave you and everyone else here, and you know it." Sam interrupted him.

"Please, Sam, just think," Jake told her. "You could be the key to solve this."

"Oh," Sam growled, when she failed to grabbed the phone cord.

"What the hell are you doing?" Jake asked, turning his head to look at her.

"I am trying to call for help," Sam answered, still trying to hook the cord around her foot.

"Flick's people turned off all the phones except the lobby," Jake reminded Sam.

"Yeah," Sam said. "Well, maybe they forgot one." Finally, she managed to hook the cord and she gave it a quick yank. The phone thudded to the floor, falling out of its cradle. It was silent. "Oh, great."

"What'd I tell you?" Jake replied.

Sam sat back in her chair, sighing heavily. "No dial tone," she said. "You told me, I know."

"Of course I did," Jake responded smugly. Even though he couldn't see her, Sam stuck her tongue out at him. Even in the middle of a hostage crisis, Jake could be so infuriating and indignant. He almost made her want Flick to kill him. Almost. But Sam looked down at her still flat stomach and then gave Jake a side-long look. _We have to make it out of here, _she thought to herself.

"Jake, you are not listening to me, ok?" Sam told him. "There is nothing I know about Linc- no phone number, no bank account, no anniversary that starts with 7-2-2."

"Ok, listen to me," Jake said, ignoring Sam's sigh. "What if the numbers aren't really numbers- they're letters?"

* * *

Wyatt stalked through the police barricade toward the district attorney, Mike Saunders. He was talking to another detective, but Wyatt didn't wait for him to finish up.

"You have a plan yet?" Wyatt demanded.

Mike dismissed the detective and turned to Wyatt. Going against his better judgment, Mike explained what the forces had decided. "At 5:30, the vault opens, at which time Flick is going to find an equinox briefcase that he does not have the code for," Mike explained. "And while he's scrambling to improvise, the swat team is going to move in, storm the hotel, and extract the hostages. It's the best chance we've got."

* * *

"You've got a lot more to offer than you think," Will told Kelly from his new spot right next to her. He could easily feel her body heat and smell the small hint of perfume she wore. The smell delighted him in way that he never felt before.

"You don't have to do that," Kelly said, looking back at him with her amber-colored eyes.

"Do what?" Will asked, confused.

"Try and make me feel better," Kelly elaborated, she looked down at her hands in her lap. "I mean, I have no one to blame for how my life turned out except myself."

"So you- you are going to just settle for working retail the rest of your life?" Will pressed.

"Well, it's not my dream job," Kelly shrugged. "But at least it's in the right industry."

"What would your dream job be?" Will asked, generally interested.

"To work for a magazine and get paid to go to Paris and Milan for fashion week, see all the lines before they hit the stores," Kelly answered, her gaze on the floor in front of her. "But that doesn't matter because it's not going to happen."

"Why not?" Will shifted and now their legs were touching slightly. Kelly flinched when they touched and Will moved his leg away from hers.

"Well, my grades are terrible and my writing skills are even worse," Kelly gave a short laugh. "That does not make me an ideal candidate for a magazine."

"I thought you said you always go for what you want," Will said, remembering what she had said a while ago.

"Sure, but so far, that hasn't worked out so great for me," Kelly replied, she looked back up at Will. "What about you? What do you want to do with your life?"

"Oh," Will said, startled by the quick change of subject. "Make a little cash as quick and easy as I can."

"Well, I guess I ruined that one for you," Kelly smiled.

"Well, there's always next time," Will smiled back, looking deep in her eyes.

"Hopefully," Kelly replied, placing her hand on top of his.

* * *

"I assure you that everything's under control and the exchange will take place as planned." Linc Slocum said into the phone. "Don't worry, soon the jewel of the Calico mountains will be ours."

"Daddy, can I have some money to go to the mall?" Rachel asked her father as she came into the room, ignoring the fact that he was on the phone.

"Yeah, yeah, take however much you want," Linc told her, then turned his attention back the conversation. "We are running out of options. We have to do this."

* * *

"Ok, if the numbers stand for letters, then it's got to mean something-" Jake was saying. "A place, someone Linc was close to."

"All right," Sam said, leaning her head back on the chair. "the phantom, his stupid belt buckle-uh, his kids?"

"The code has six digits," Jake reminded her, he gestured toward the phone. "Can you see the keypad?"

"Yeah, I got it," Sam look at the keypad on the phone. "Seven is p, q, r, s, and two is a, b, c,"

"So we get p-a-c, we got r-a-c, we got s-a-c, s-a-b," Jake spelled out each making him more frustrated then the last.

"Rachel," Sam whispered.

"What?" Jake asked.

"Rachel," Sam repeated louder. "After the divorce, Ryan went with his mother and Linc got Rachel. I remember Ryan saying something about how Rachel always reminded Linc of their mother. Rachel was the one bright spot in the whole divorce mess."

"Ok, so the numbers are 7-2-2-4-3-5," Jake concluded. "Are sure about this?"

"Just think about it, the way Linc gives Rachel everything she wants," Sam told Jake. "He dotes on her some much because she reminds him of his ex-someone he hasn't gotten over. Jake, it can't be a coincidence. Rachel is the key for Flick to unlock that briefcase."

* * *

A loud beep came from the computer Ryan was working on. "Whoa," Ryan breathed. "Sometimes I'm so awesome, I scare myself." He looked at Darrell. "Look, I can have the vault open a full hour ahead of schedule. All I have to do is hit one button to start the override. I mean, should- should I stall or should I open it?"

"Open it," Darrell said without hesitation.

"If I try to escape, they're going to take it out on you," Hazel whispered to Jen. It was one thing to put herself in danger, but to danger another's life, especially when she had a child to think about.

"Don't worry about me," Jen whispered back to Hazel. "Just wait for your signal and go."

"If you guys get the chance to get out of here, run and don't waste one second trying to save me," Soraya croaked to Matt and Joni. "Just save yourselves."

"I am not leaving here without you," Matt told Soraya, holding onto her hand much tighter now. "I will promise you that."

**A/N: I am really sorry that it took me so long to update…again. I hope that I still have some readers out there and if I don't, I understand. Well, if you're still into this story, you know what you have to do. Please review.**


	14. 1 Hour Earlier

**Chapter Thirteen**

**By: TheEquestrianWriter**

1 hour earlier- 4am

Seven came up behind Scott and kicked him in the back. "Hey, you feelin' better?" he asked. "Your head still hurt?" Scott tried to ignore him the best he could, the throbbing in his head had started to go away. He concentrated on taking deep, even breaths.

"What's the matter?" Seven continued. "Has the concussion made you forget all concept of speech?"

"Hey, why don't you leave him alone?" Ty called to Seven from where he was sitting.

"Yeah, go back to the doghouse you crawled out from," Lou spoke up from her spot next to Scott. She had her arm around him, and had been trying to comfort him the best she could.

Seven ignored both of them. "Come on, doc," he goaded, he pressed his gun into Scott's shoulder. "You want a bullet in the shoulder or maybe one in the head? Take away the pain. Turn the other cheek. I dare you."

"Leave him alone!" Lou glared at Seven.

But Seven wasn't stopping. "Come on," he pressed. "Do it for you daughter, the one we shot down outside. Come on, I dare you."

Suddenly, Lou got to feet, grabbing Seven's gun and thrusted it upwards. It connected with his head, blood spewing everywhere, he crumpled to the floor, groaning. Lou stood frozen, not believing what she just did. She threw her hands up, when Six burst from where he stood, gun aimed at her.

"Don't move!"

* * *

"Ok, sweetie," Tim Fleming said as he sat Holly down on a stoop across the street from the hotel. She had been released from the hospital with a bandage on her upper left arm. Tim had taken the little girl home to the hotel he was staying at, but Holly screamed the whole time wanting her parents. "We'll wait right here and soon mommy and daddy will come and get you." The more he said it, the more he believed it.

"I wanna show mommy my Beauty sticker I get at the hosicle," Holly replied, talking about the Beauty and the Beast sticker on her coat. The doctor was so impressed at how brave Holly was he gave her the sticker, it made her really happy.

"I bet she'll love it," Tim told the little girl as he handed her a small cup of hot cocoa. Holly took it eagerly and took a large gulp. Just then, Commissioner Ray Jones walked up to them.

"I was hoping we could ask your granddaughter a few questions?" Ray asked Tim.

Tim looked at Ray and then down at his granddaughter. Holly was smiling, holding her cup and Barbie doll. A complete change from the scared little girl laying on the icy ground from a bullet wound. How could he make his precious granddaughter remember what she went through in the hotel? Then again, anything that Holly had to say could get his daughters out of the hotel all the more sooner.

But at what price?

* * *

"That's it, that has to be it," Sam said. "Rachel is Linc's precious little girl and it makes sense- 7-2-2 is r,a,c."

"And the rest works out to be 4-3-5," Jake replied. Sam could sense that he was tense and she wondering how much the bullet wound in his shoulder was bothering him. With Jake, you never could tell what he was feeling.

"That's the code, Jake," Sam told him, convinced. "It's the code. Those numbers will stop the briefcase from self-destructing. It's exactly what Flick wants to get us out of here."

"Or at least one of us," Jake said.

* * *

"I hope you enjoyed your last act on earth," Four strode from the other side of the lobby toward Lou, gun drawn.

"I decide who lives or dies," Flick chastised him, coming from behind Lou to stand in front of Four.

"She just killed one of our men," Four protested.

"Silence!" Flick yelled, everyone in the room flinched at the anger in his voice. "Show's over, kiddies. Go back to whatever you were doing."

"Ok-um- we're good to go," Ryan said to Darrell.

Darrell looked at the computer, then to Ryan in disbelief. "You opened the vault?" he asked him.

"Once I press this button, the override goes into effect," Ryan explained, his finger hovering over a key on the keyboard.

"I knew it!" Hazel jumped up and started over to Lou. "I knew it- you're still mad at _him_," she gestured to Flick, who had an amused look on his face. "For sending your daughter outside to get shot at! At least she has a chance to get help, when half of the people in this lobby don't. I want to hear you admit it. Come on, say it, you freak! Say it!"

"Bravo," Flick clapped, walking over to Hazel. He grabbed Hazel's arm, but she shook him off. "Hazel is finally showing her true colors."

"I'll take this," Six told Flick, stepping forward toward Lou. "Hey, mommy dearest." Lou held her breath, knowing what was coming.

"Hold it right there," Flick stopped him and pulled the trigger of his gun. A shot rippled through the still air of the lobby.

* * *

"Somebody's getting trigger-happy in there," Wyatt stepped to the front of the police barricade. "We haven't got another hour to wait for that vault to open!"

"Look, we don't know whether that was actually targeted or if it's simply a warning," District attorney Mike Saunders explained walking up to Wyatt.

" 'Simply a warning'." Wyatt repeated, incredulous. "My daughter is in there. If she comes out feet first with a bullet in her head, am I supposed to care about this-"

"Look, we know that Flick wants Linc's briefcase- that's the reason for this whole debacle," Mike attempted to tell him. "Once he gets it, he's going to need live hostages and he knows it." He turned to one of the other officers. "Get him on the phone!"

"Oh, great, great," Wyatt complained. "And if my daughter is eating bullets while you're chatting on the phone-"

"Hey, calm it down a notch," Officer Griffen Reynolds told Wyatt, when he had walked up.

"Griffen, one more thing I want you to take care of before we storm the hotel," Mike said to Griffen, while looking at Wyatt. "I want you to arrest Wyatt Forster."

"Hey, Holly," Commissioner Ray spoke to the four year old girl as he sat down beside her on the stoop. Holly looked up at him with a big smile, her cup of hot cocoa was between her feet and she held her Barbie doll with both hands. "I bet you can't wait to see you mommy and daddy again?"

Holly nodded enthusiastically.

"And I would love to get them out for you as quickly as possible," Ray said, shifting his position so he could look directly at Holly. "But I might need your help to do it." He caught a glance from Tim from over the girl's curly blonde head.

"Mommy says I'm a good helper," Holly boasted.

"Good," Ray replied, glad he had the girl's cooperation. "Do you think you can tell me what you remember about what happened in there?"

Holly's eyes got huge as if everything she had been through tonight came rushing back. Ray started to think this was a bad idea, when Holly spoke in a small voice. "Daddy's hurt,"

"He's hurt, where?" Ray asked her.

Holly pointed to her own head and Ray understood. He decided this was too much, he probably wasn't going to get much information out her anyway. Ray patted Holly's shoulder.

"It's ok, honey," he told her and started to get up.

"He pointed a gun at me!" Holly suddenly burst out, tears starting to stream down her cheeks. Ray stopped and looked at her. "He said he was going to kill me!" With that the sobs started. Tim scooped his granddaughter into his arms and held her close as she cried her eyes out.

"I'm sorry," Ray said to Tim.

Tim only looked at him as the commissioner walked away.

* * *

"Why bother?' Kelly tossed the useless fan onto the floor of the vault. "The air in here gets hotter by the minute."

"Yeah, it won't be much longer," Will replied from his spot leaning on the shelves of various items belonging to hotel guests. "The vault is set to open in an hour and a half, give or take."

"Have you given any more thought to my plan?" Kelly asked, looking up at him.

"It could work," Will shrugged. "Except for the part where you and I make a run for it."

"Ok, well, what's our alternative?" Kelly questioned him, crossing her arms over her chest. "I mean, you can't actually think you're going to walk away from this, do you? The cops are probably swarming the place by now, and they're not going to wait forever. Eventually, they're just going to start shooting their way in. And once that door opens, you're going to have two options- surrender or die."

"Kelly, you're the one that's in danger," Will said, straightening up. "One planned this all out. He's going to come in here, grab this briefcase, blow up the lobby, and cover the team's escape by killing the hostages."

"You would actually help him to do that?" Kelly asked, horrified.

* * *

_Ring, Ring, Ring._

"Dump in him in the supply closet- and hurry back," Flick instructed Six, talking about the dead Seven and angrily stalked toward over to the phone on the front desk. "No D.A. Saunders, I'm not interested in anything you have to say!" Flick slammed the phone back down and turned to see both Amy and Matt hurrying over to Lou. "Dr. Amy- Dr. Matt, you already have a patient, and you have hogged the spotlight for far to long. Let's give some else a turn, shall we." He walked over to stand behind Jen. "You, Jennifer, check on mommy dearest- now!"

Jen got up and hurried over to where Lou was now leaning against one of the pillars by the door, Scott was beside her. She knelt down beside Lou and immediately felt for a pulse.

"What's the verdict?" Flick asked, tapping his gun against his thigh.

"She-she's alive-barely," Jen answered. "My god, there's so much blood. I- I need some help."

"Just tell me what to do," Scott said, sweat beaded on his forehead, as tried to shake his head clear.

"Well, you can barely see straight, so- Hazel?" Jen told him truthfully. She turned her head slightly to where Hazel was still standing. "I need you to help me."

Flick grabbed a hold of Hazel and started pulling her over to Jen, Lou, and Scott. "Hey, come on," Hazel said as she struggled against Flick's hold, trying to get free. "I don't want to do it. I won't." Flick pushed her down to the floor.

"Hazel, please?" Jen pleaded. Hazel sighed and nodded, agreeing to help.

"The next time a hostage attacks one of us, don't hesitate," Two instructed Darrell. "Shoot to kill-got it?"

Darrell nodded.

"Move," Flick ordered Joni from where he stood behind her. He took her arm and jerked her up.

"Oh-"

Flick pushed her over to the front desk, where Ryan was working on the computer. "Our medical staff seems to have their hands full, and I hate to make you all bloody- and I won't if Slocum's son here made any progress."

"Look-uh-no worries, ok?" Ryan assured Flick. "I got the override running like I said, ok? Your vault will be opened in a half an hour."

"Well before the cops are expecting it," Flick said. "Good work, Mr. Slocum. You may have just saved Joni's life."

* * *

"If you have a plan, you need to tell me about it before Flick gets back in here," Sam told Jake, knowing exactly that he had some kind of plan and that she wasn't going to like it.

Jake sighed, "The cops know what Flick wants by now, and I could bet all the money I have that they're going to storm that lobby as soon as the vault opens."

"That means Flick knows that, too," Sam concluded.

"That's right, and he's going to want to run with the briefcase and he's not going to be able to do it because he doesn't have the access code," Jake explained. "So what I'm going to do is I'm going to give it to him, in exchange for your release."

"You can't do that," Sam protested. "Jake, you have a bullet in your shoulder. You need a doctor."

"One of us has to stay alive for our child," Jake replied.

"Well, you know what?" Sam hissed. "I know the code, too. So who's to say I'm not going to tell him that and use it for your release instead?"

* * *

"You can't put me in jail," Wyatt defended himself to the cops. "I haven't done anything wrong."

"Ok, well, I'm charging you with obstruction of justice," Mike told him.

"You got a pretty thin skin, don't you, Saunders?" Wyatt shot at the D.A. "All I did was point out that your plan has some faults."

"I really don't have to argue with you, Wyatt, ok?" Mike turned to Griffen, who was still watching the exchange. "Could you please cuff him?"

"Come on, Ray," Wyatt tried to persuade the commissioner who had just walked up. Griffen walked up next to Wyatt. "You know that if it weren't for me, you wouldn't even know about the briefcase or the code."

"Ok, we're grateful for that," Ray told him.

"Yeah? Well, how about showing me some gratitude," Wyatt continued. "I got family in there, just like you do! Don't take me out of the loop, I might be some help!"

"Sorry, Wyatt," Ray apologized. "This time I have to side with the D.A. There's no way you'll stay on the sideline. As soon as we turn our back, you'll go in there to rescue Sam. I can't allow that."

"Ok, fine," Mike stepped back in. "Are you happy now?" He looked at Griffen. "Could you please take him downtown?"

"Will you at least let him stay on the scene until his daughter is out?" Griffen bargained with the D.A.

"Griffen, Wyatt Forster is a loose cannon," Mike explained to the young officer. "I don't think I have to explain that to you."

"You arrogant bastard," Wyatt muttered, then spoke louder for the other two to hear. "You don't fool me, not for a minute. You don't believe in this rinky-dink operation. You want to save the hostages yourself, but you haven't got the guts, and you can't take me standing here reminding you of that!"

* * *

"You know what your problem is?" Kelly said, getting to her feet and walking over to stand over Will. "You need to see the hostages as people, just like you see me."

"No, I don't," Will replied, staring up at her.

"There's Sam, she's in love and just found out she's going to have a baby. She should be at home with her husband-to-be celebrating, instead she's being held up in a lobby with your psycho partners." Kelly paused for a breath. "And then there's Hazel. She acts like this tough bitch from hell, when she's really falling apart inside. The love of her life, Griffen, is probably outside right now worried sick about her. And, yeah, I know it sounds corny to say 'love of her life'. But Hazel and Griffen, they have this real-life, fairy-tale romance. Did I mention Griffen is my cousin, yeah, he was a medical intern before he joined the police academy. I don't even want to think about what he'll do if Hazel dies."

"I don't need to hear this," Will said, looking away from Kelly to stare at a spot on the wall behind her.

"And then there's Jen," Kelly continued, ignoring him. "I mean, I don't even know her, but it doesn't mean I want her to die. I mean, she's carrying a baby. Not only would you be killing her, but you would be responsible for the death of an innocent, unborn child."

At that, Will got to his feet as well and stood in front of the girl. "It wasn't supposed to turn out like this, all right?" he told her.

"How did you think it was supposed to be?" Kelly questioned him. "Your boss gave you a mask and a gun and told you not to let anyone leave."

"It was a job – five minutes, in and out," Will explained, trying to keep his voice even. "He made the plan, we followed. There wasn't supposed to be real flesh-and-blood people involved."

* * *

"You're not down with this," Wyatt was saying to Griffen as the officer led him toward the triage area and began handcuffing him to a drainpipe on the side of a building. "Come on, Saunders had to have screwed you over more than once."

"What's your point?" Griffen asked him, putting the keys in his pocket.

"My point is, don't chain me out here while that idiot gets my daughter killed," Wyatt looked up when Bryan Ely walked up to the two of them.

"What's this about?" Bryan asked.

"Mr. Forster is being detained by the Dalton police department," Griffen told Bryan. "He's a danger to himself and the hostages. He's probably going to ask you to help him out. Under no circumstances are you to do that. He'll act on impulse and end up getting a lot of people killed."

"Well, that's the police department's business, not mine," Bryan said, stuffing his hands inside the pockets of his jacket.

"Thanks a lot, pal. Maybe I can do something for you some time," Wyatt said, sarcastically. He looked at Bryan, when Griffen walked away. "Clown. God – cops, huh?"

Griffen walked up to the team of nurses and doctors that were setting up the triage area, for when the hostages were released. "Ok, good to see you," he said. "We need to get a triage set up – at lease three tents and enough supply-"

"It's covered," the head nurse told him.

"Look, I just put in the request a few minutes ago," Griffen said in disbelief. "How could it be covered?"

"We were already on our way," the chief of staff of the local hospital walked over to them. "You're not the only one who can see a potential for serious casualties."

* * *

"You're missing all the excitement," Flick said when he came into the room Sam and Jake were being held in. "The distraught mommy killed one of my men, but not to worry – she was shot for her trouble. I knew you'd want to come back and be a part of things."

"I'll make you a deal," Jake spoke up suddenly. "I told you that I know the code to the briefcase. I'll give you the code if you let Sam go."

"Oh, wow," Flick walked over and knelt beside Sam's chair. "What have you done to win such devotion? I mean, this man would lie to St. Peter to protect you."

"He's not lying, he knows the code," Sam told him, staring Flick in the eye, with a look that she hoped was venomous.

"Well, then I take it to reason you know it, too?" Flick presumed.

"No, I don't," Sam lied.

"Well, there's no way for me to find out if you're telling the truth," Flick said, straightening up.

"Listen to me, Quinn gave you three numbers," Jake replied. "By the time he got to the fourth he was bluffing."

"And I have your word on that, do I?" Flick asked, coming to stand in front of Jake.

"The next number in the sequence is four," Jake answered him. "I'll give you the last two once you release Sam."

"Oh, you're quite a wheeler-dealer, aren't you?" Flick commented.

"The cops know you're waiting for the vault to open," Jake reminded him. "As soon as it does, they're going to come get you, Flick."

"Well, then how fortunate that the vault's going to be opened earlier than they think,"

* * *

"Do you want more vodka?" Matt asked Soraya, brushing a stray curl away from her face. "It might help the pain."

"I don't – I don't feel anything right now," Soraya said, her voice was so quiet Matt almost couldn't hear her.

_She's getting weaker, _Matt thought to himself, stroking Soraya's black curls, that were damp with sweat. _We can't count on this guy releasing us. When that vault opens, we're out of time. _Soraya must have seen the look on his face because she said, in a much stronger voice.

"We're not giving up. We're going to get out of here somehow."

Matt gave her a small smile and leaned down to give her a quick kiss on the lips. "Not if we don't come up with a plan, and I mean right now." He leaned his forehead against hers.

"I'm not sure if I just saved the universe or set us all up for certain death," Ryan said from where he stood at the reception desk in front of the computer.

"You did what you had to do," Joni told him, edging closer to him.

"Yeah, but Flick seems totally psyched about the vault opening early," Ryan replied, suddenly starting to realize the consequences of what he'd just done.

"And you think whatever makes him happy is really bad for us," Joni finished his thought, looking at him.

"Yeah, I just – I just hope I did the right thing," Ryan said, looking back at Joni.

Hazel watched Jen attend to Lou's injury, and then looked back at where Darrell still stood. "Ok, I think it's time for me to slip away," she whispered.

Jen looked at her quickly. "Wait for Darrell's signal," she told the other girl.

At that moment, Flick walked back into the lobby with Sam and Jake along with three extra people. Jen's eyes widened as she recognized them. Adam, Nate, and Quinn. "Good news, ladies and gentlemen," Flick greeted the room. "Our party has just gotten bigger. Separate them, I'll take care of them later." He ordered two of his men, then he focused on the whole lobby again. "Thanks to our friends, Ryan and Jacob, our little gathering will come to an end in a matter of minutes."

* * *

Tim Fleming walking up to the district attorney, Mike Saunders. "Any sign of Amy or Ty?" Tim asked.

Mike turned to face the man. "We think we heard Ty shout out to Quinn from the lobby," Mike told him. "As far as Amy's concerned, no. Sorry. But at least we know what the gunmen want now – this briefcase Linc Slocum had stored in the hotel vault. We're going to storm the lobby as soon as the lock releases."

"You can't storm the lobby, you could get everyone killed," Tim protested. "You need to keep negotiating."

"Oh, do – do you think we haven't tried that, Tim?" Mike snapped, he was getting tired of people second-guessing his actions. "The leader is not interested. He pretty much cut off communications right away."

"Well, you can't just give up," Tim told him.

"Hey, Bryan, psst," Wyatt coaxed over to Bryan Ely, where he was helping nurses set up gurneys in the triage area. Bryan looked over at him, knowing he shouldn't interact, but too curious at what Sam's father wanted with him. "You know, the idiots in charge of this are going to blow it," Wyatt pointed out. "They're going to run this rescue mission into the dirt. Help me. Help me get out of this. I swear to you, I'll get into that lobby and I'll bring your brother out."

* * *

"The police are most likely planning their rescue attempt at 5:30AM, just when the vault is scheduled to open," Flick was saying. "But we've got a surprise for him, don't we? It's going to unlock sooner than that -" he looked Ryan. "Correct, Mr. Slocum?"

"Yeah, any minute," Ryan confirmed.

"Yeah, which gives me ample time to secure the briefcase and open it," Flick continued. "That's where Jacob comes in. If what is in the vault is actually an equinox case, Jacob will give me the rest of the code. If it isn't, then I stick to my original plan." He paused to walk to the center of the lobby and look around at all his hostages. "I'll blow this lobby to kingdom come and use the many deaths to cover my escape. There's a chance that some of you might survive the blast, but no chance at all that you'll survive a gunshot wound to the head. So keep behaving, and pray to whatever you believe in that Jacob Ely is telling the truth for once in his life. Joni, Ryan," he gestured toward the two and one of the men grabbed them. "Come with me – now. Faster. Out." Flick ordered and then followed them out of the lobby.

Striding across the room purposely as if controlling the hostages, Darrell made his way over to where Jen and Hazel sat with Lou. His gaze lingered on Jen as he knelt down in front of them. "Wait for my signal," Darrell whispered to Hazel, discreetly handing Hazel a black ski mask.

"Ok," Hazel whispered back, hiding the mask under her legs.

"If Flick blows up the lobby, we're going to be lucky to get out of here alive," Soraya whispered. She took a deep breath and continued. "I'm not going to stand a chance."

Matt was already shaking his head, determined not to let her go without a fight. "Well, when the time comes, I'm just going to pick you up and run." he told her.

* * *

"Why isn't the door open?" Flick asked when they approached the vault.

"Uh – you – see that keypad?" Ryan pointed to a keypad next to the vault's door. "I have to tap in a manual command."

"Do it," Flick ordered, grabbing a hold of Joni again. "If either you or Jacob are playing games with me, I'll make sure Joni dies slowly and painfully." Ryan looked at a scared Joni before walking up to the keypad.

"You have to believe me," Will was saying from just inside the vault. "I don't want you to get hurt."

"Then stick to what we talked about," Kelly told him. "Hand over the briefcase and -" She stopped when they both heard the sound of the vault unlocking.

"It's too soon come open," Will stated the obvious. But, nonetheless, Will pulled the mask back over his face and picked up the briefcase, while Kelly moved to stand behind him.

"Get in," came Flick's voice and then Ryan and Joni walked into the vault. "Well done, Mr. Slocum," Flick praised Ryan, then turned to Will. "Sorry about the lockdown. Now, hand over that case. I'm hungry!"

Will hesitated, feeling Kelly's eyes on him, he quickly glanced at her, and then back at Flick. "The self-destruct is armed," Will informed Flick. "There's no way of knowing how much time is left."

Flick looked at the case, studying it. "An equinox indeed," he mused. "Fortunately, we have a hostage to pressure Jacob into giving me the code. And if he's not on the level, this beautiful, young lady dies." Flick said, gesturing toward Joni, who flinched, with his gun. "Well? What are you waiting for? Hand it over."

Will looked at Kelly one more time and then handed the briefcase over to Flick.

"Thank you," Flick said, taking the briefcase.

* * *

"What did you do?" Bryan asked Wyatt, gesturing toward the handcuffs that kept the man chained to the drainpipe.

"Nothing, but ask that dimwit D.A a couple of reasonable questions," Wyatt answered. "Now, I'm – I'm, you know, looking at my options, and you happen to be one of them. We both got people that we need to get out of there. You can help me make that happen."

"Ok, let me get this straight," Mike said, as he talked with the captain of the SWAT team. "So we have to storm the lobby at 5:30AM. Because that's when the vault automatically opens, the theory being that we're cutting Flick's men off between the vault and the lobby area. Now, he's going to know what our strategy is, so we're going to cut the power 15 minutes before we go in to shake him up a little bit and make him think that we're actually going in early. Is that about it?"

"Yes, sir," the captain answered.

"After, we fire the smoke grenades and the tear gas through the windows, secure the lobby and the surrounding offices, then move toward the vault," Commissioner Ray Jones added.

"Ok, wait a minute," Griffen interjected. "There's a pregnant woman in there. Tear gas could hurt the baby."

"We have no choice," Ray told him, somberly.

"Then we don't do it," Griffen said, matter of factly.

"It's part of the protocol," the captain replied.

"Griffen, there are gunshot victims in there, some of their injuries must have compromised their breathing," Ray said, taking Griffen aside. "But there are other people in there that are counting on us to give them every possible chance at survival."

* * *

"Watch that one," Flick ordered Six, when he strode back into the lobby, handing Joni off to the man. "I may need her in a minute."

"Ok," Hazel whispered to Jen, while keeping her eye on Flick. "As soon as Darrell gives me the signal, I'm out of here."

"You were right – it is an equinox," Flick said, stopping in front of where Jake was standing. "But if you're lying about the access codes, you better tell me – if you don't want to have Sam's blood on your hands."

"I already told you what you needed to know," Jake replied.

"Very well," Flick said. "Then give me the last two numbers."

"I will!" Jake exclaimed. "You got to release everybody."

"You trying to change the rules midstream?" Flick questioned him. Two moved next to Sam, who was standing nearby, pressing her gun into Sam's side. "She will shoot Sam as easily she shot the mother. Now, give me the complete code!"

* * *

"I got to pick the lock here," Wyatt told Bryan. "Check your pockets, see if you got a ballpoint pen or a hairpin or something like -"

"Oh, sure," Bryan interrupted him. "Let me just take the pen that I take everywhere with me out of my pocket. You can use that."

"I don't need sarcasm, I need your help," Wyatt said.

"Why should I?" Bryan asked.

"Does 'storming the lobby at dawn' sound like a great solution to you?" Wyatt questioned him. "Listen, those people took that lobby 12 hours ago. That wasn't their original plan. They planned to get in and get out. But what they came for, they couldn't get, and they have waited – with all of the police department's heavy artillery surrounding them. That means they're not going to leave till they get what they want. That also means that those hostages could very be collateral damage."

"So you're going to run in to the rescue?" Bryan guessed.

"Are you going to trust their lives to Mike Saunders or me?" Wyatt asked.

* * *

"I want the code in its entirety," Flick demanded. "Or Two shoots Sam right here, right now!" Two pressed her gun harder into Sam's side.

"Who are you kidding?" Sam spoke up. "You're going to kill us all anyway."

"Shut your mouth!" Two ordered Sam, slamming the gun even harder into Sam.

"You kill Sam, you take away my motivation, Flick," Jake warned. "I'd be happy to die with the last two numbers. Then where would your big plans be?"

"It seems that we are at an impasse," Flick said, his impatience growing. "So I shall be a reasonable man and I will reconsider your offer – the code for Sam's freedom."

"7-2-2-4-3-5," Jake recited the code.

"He's bluffing," Two accused.

"No, he's not," Flick said to her, watching Jake. "He's trying to save the only thing in the world that matters to him. Jacob Ely would never knowingly try to sacrifice his girl, would he?" He looked down at the briefcase in his hand and started punching in the code. "7..2..2..4..3..5.."

Everybody in the room seemed to hold their breath as Flick put in the code and waited to see what happened next. As Flick did so, Darrell made a small nod in Hazel's direction. Hazel got the cue. Silently and slowly, Hazel backed away from Jen and Lou. When she was clear, Hazel pulled on the ski mask and hurried down the hall, away from the lobby. There was a collective gasp of relief when the briefcase beeped and clicked open. Flick opened the briefcase and a shocked gasp escaped Sam's lips when she saw what was inside. There were small vials of clear liquid, but it was what was in the center of the briefcase that had Sam's heart beating so hard in her chest. A small, silver horsehair bracelet.

"Ah, success at last," Flick said, obviously pleased. He turned toward Sam. "Well, Samantha, I'm a man of my word. You're free to go."

"No, thanks," Sam said instead.

"Sam, leave now," Jake told her.

"Not without you," Sam whispered to him.

"Well, that's not very smart," Flick commented. "Though, it's touching."

Jake stared at Sam, pleading with her to take the chance she was given and walk out of this hotel. Sam stared back, she wasn't going to leave this hotel, unless he was beside her.

"Is that your final answer?" Flick asked Sam. Suddenly, the entire lobby went completely dark.

"They cut the power!" Two shouted.

"They're coming in early," Flick said. "Give me the detonator now!"

"Ray!" Griffen called, lowering his binoculars from where he had them trained on the roof of the hotel. "Someone's climbed out, behind the sign."

"One of the hostages?" Ray asked, looking through his own pair of binoculars.

Griffen shook his head. "They're all in black, wearing a mask,"

"Hold your fire!" the captain ordered his team.

"Be ready to shoot if he pulls a gun or makes a threatening move." Ray warned the entire squad.

"Ladies and gentlemen, it's been emotional!" Flick had his hand raised, his finger hovering over the button on the detonator. He stared gruesomely at the whole room, taking in each of the terrified expressions of his hostages.

Amy sat still, not moving. It seemed like she was frozen in that one moment waiting for the detonator to be pressed. Her heart was thumping so hard in her chest, she thought it would burst. She let out the breath she was holding, and looked up at Ty, who was sitting next to her. He looked back at her, his emerald eyes telling her just how much he loved her.

Sam stood across the room from her with the same look of terror on her face that mirrored hers. Without realizing it, Sam had moved closer to Jake and had gripped his hand so hard he was most likely wincing from the intensity of it. He looked down at her and pulled her closer to him. That in itself, made her a whole lot calmer. Unconsciously, her hand moved to her stomach, to the baby within.

Matt was kneeling in front of the couch, stroking Soraya's black curls, trying not to focus on what was going on around him. His only priority was getting his wife out of here in time. She had either fallen asleep or unconscious and Matt wasn't sure how much longer she had. He took a deep breath, the first chance he got, he would pick her up and run for the exit.

Jen sat with Lou, her hands on her rounded belly, protectively. She looked around at the gunmen and knew he was among them, but which one. They all looked the same in the dark and their black coveralls and ski masks didn't help at all. She needed to tell him the truth before it was impossible. He needed to know.

Suddenly, Darrell ran forward and punched Flick in the stomach. The detonator dropped from his hand as the two began to fight. Everybody looked on with the same fearful expression. Two grabbed the briefcase and Will picked up the detonator from where it fell to the floor.

Meanwhile, Hazel had made her way to the edge of roof and looked down at the ground. She spotted a police car parked just below. Without another thought, Hazel jumped. She landed on the hood of the car and rolled off to the ground. As she regained her feet, Hazel pulled the mask off her face for the police to see.

"Hazel?" Griffen cried, incredulously.

"Hold your fire! Hold your fire!" Ray ordered the team.

"The lobby's wired to explode! Get everyone out!" Hazel yelled, running over to the police barricade. "You've got to get everyone out now."

Will stared at the detonator in his hand, his finger hovering over the button. He was about the press it when he felt a hand on his arm. Will looked down and saw Kelly watching him.

"Don't," she said softly.

Ray looked at Hazel and then turned toward the SWAT team. "Hit them with tear gas. Go on my command!" he ordered.

Glass shattered and the alarm went off as the tear gas filled the interior of the lobby. Flick, who was still trying to fight off Darrell, managed to pull back a little to yell out to his men. "Push the button, now!" Two grabbed the the detonator from Will and hit the button.

"They're going to know we're coming," Griffen said to another police officer as he readied himself to go into the lobby.

"At least, they won't be able to see us," the other police officer replied. There was the sound of gunshots from inside the lobby. Griffen shot a look at Ray.

"We've got to get them out of there!" he exclaimed.

"Go! Go! Go!" Ray ordered the team.

The SWAT team moved in, armed with guns, masks, and shields. They approached the doors slowly in one line. Everyone else looked on in terrified silence.

The lobby was now filled with thick smoke that made it impossible to see anything. The outlines of figures were the only thing that anybody could make out. Jake, with his arms securely around Sam, moved her behind the lobby desk for safety. Matt gathered Soraya in his arms and made his way through the smoke toward the doors. Jen looked around her frantically, unable to move from her spot where she sat. Amy was pushed gently to the floor behind the couch, by who, she didn't know. Whoever it was, they stayed behind her, their arms around her body. It was Ty.

Jen still sat where she was, trying to decide where she should run to. Suddenly, a figure ran up to her and gently scooped her up. He, then, ran with her to the safest place he knew.

Matt finally found the door and ran through it. "I need some help here!" he yelled out. A nurse ran up to him and told him to put Soraya down. He lied her down on the ground, the blanket still wrapped tightly around her.

"How is she?" the nurse asked.

"Amy and I have done everything we can, but-" Matt looked up at the sound of more gunshots. That was when he didn't see any of his family or friends coming out of the hotel. As he watched, the lobby exploded. Matt was pitched backwards onto the ground and a fiery, white light engulfed everything.

**A/N: **I am really sorry for the super long wait. I am getting back into updating all my stories, so hopefully I still have some faithful readers out there. Please review.


	15. Aftermath part 1

**A/N: **Only two reviews? I have to say I'm a little disappointed, but I understand since after haven't updated this story in a year. But I'm updating, sooner then I have done in the past. Anyway, thank you to those who did review this story, thank you so much. Alright, let's go search through the debris and rubble and find out who survived...

**Chapter Fourteen  
By: TheEquestrianWriter**

As the dust settled and the smoke dissipated, the shock remained on the police and pedestrians' faces. The rest of the hotel still stood, but the lobby was unrecognizable. The silence was audible. The only sounds were coming from the sirens on the police cars and ambulances. Everyone was frozen in place, unable to believe what had just happened.

The lobby was scattered with fallen beams and furniture strewn all over, smoke still hovering heavy in the air, made it difficult to see anything. Hostages mixed with the gunmen, and swat team lay half-buried among the debris.

The first person to move was Hazel. She stood up from where she was thrown to the ground from the blast. "Griffen?" she called. Looking around at the police, she realized that the swat team was not among them. Griffen was inside the lobby. Her heart dropped as she started to approach the hotel.

*******  
"Bryan, my daughter's in whatever's left of that building!" Wyatt exclaimed, straining against his restraints. "You got to help me get out of this!"

"How am I supposed to do that?" Bryan asked, throwing his arms up in frustration, when he was finally able to pry his eyes away from the wreck that was the lobby.

"Get a cop, get a key!" Wyatt told him.

"I'll try," Bryan said, hurrying off with no idea what he was searching for. Fear gripped Wyatt's chest, knowing his daughter was somewhere trapped in there and he was stuck out here, unable to help.

******  
"Hazel, no," D.A Mike Saunders said, running up to the girl and stopped her from going inside the hotel. Hazel shook his hand off and tried to move past his large frame, but couldn't.

"You can't go in there, Hazel," Commissioner Ray Jones replied as he walked up to the two.

"He wasn't supposed to be in there!" Hazel yelled at them. "He's not apart of the swat team! He wasn't supposed to be in there!"

"We needed every available officer we had," Ray explained, trying to calm her down. "Griffen made his choice, he chose to put others' lives ahead of his own." Hazel slumped in Ray's arms, letting the tears she'd been fighting come. She cried for everything she had been through last night, for all the hostages still trapped inside the lobby, but most importantly, for the only guy she ever really loved and who she might lose.

"Nurse?"

"Nurse, I need help, Soraya's critical," Matt called as he ran into the triage area, carrying an unconscious Soraya. He put her down on top of a gurney and starting checking her vitals. "Soraya, hold on. I'm not going to lose you now."

After what seemed like hours, everything was silent and they had stopped falling. It was then Jen realized that someone covered her body with their own. She jerked upward, knocking the person off of her, who she realized was dressed all in black and a mask. She started to move away when they grabbed her arm to stop her.

"Get off of me!" Jen yelled at him, swatting his arm away and crawling as far away as she could from him.

"No, no – wait, wait," he told her and before either one of them could say something else, he pulled off his mask revealing his face.

"Darrell?" Jen asked, disbelievingly.

As dark and misshapen as the lobby was, the sounds of firefighters walking among the rubble could be heard, calling out to anybody who could hear. Coughing, Griffen regained consciousness, he moved every part of his body, making sure nothing was broken. Satisfied, Griffen sat up, but winced when he felt a dull throb in his head. Reaching up with his hand, he felt something wet and sticky. It was blood.

But the hostages came first. He stood up slowly, taking in the wreck that was what was left of the hotel lobby. "Kelly, can you hear me!" Griffen called to his cousin. "Anybody?"

Griffen started walking, being careful where he stepped, when he heard a strangled cough. "Hello?" he called, but there was no answer. Still, he followed where he thought it came from. Sure enough, he could make out the outline of a body pinned underneath a wooden beam.

"Hello? Can you hear me?" Griffen called out, hurrying over to the figure. The sight that met him was gruesome. Blood coated the man's face and the beam was on his chest, making it difficult for him to breathe. Already knowing the answer, Griffen felt for the man's pulse.

"What do you got?" a firefighter asked, walking up to him.

Griffen sat back on his heels and shook his head. "He's dead," he informed the firefighter. The firefighter called another over and together they lifted the beam off of the young, half-Shoshone man. After the body was placed onto a gurney, the first firefighter turned to Griffen.

"You need to get that looked at," he said, gesturing toward his head.

Griffen nodded, "There's somebody I got to find first," Griffen replied. "Just give me a little more time."

Light and sound were starting to come back to Amy as she struggled to breathe in the dark, dingy space. She tried to push herself off the ground, but found she was pinned in place by another body. Amy grabbed the arm that encircled her waist and gave it a shake.

"Ty?" her voice was dry and cracked, so she cleared her throat and tried again. "Ty?"

No answer.

Her heart beating faster, Amy turned over so that she now lay on her back on the ground. Gently, Amy pushed Ty off of her. He rolled off her to the spot next to her and a piercing cry escaped his lips. Alarmed, Amy bolted up and the sight that met her chilled her to the core.

Ty's pale face glistened with sweat and his eyes were wide with pain, his breaths came in shallow bursts. He clutched his stomach with bloodstained hands where a piece of wood protruded from his body. Ty looked up at her with vague recognition. Instinctively, Amy moved Ty, so that he now lay on his side, preventing the wood from going in any farther.

"Don't worry, we're going to get help," Amy tried to soothe him, while trying to calm herself down. She ran her hands through his dark hair, now slick with sweat, bringing her head down to look in his eyes. "I'm not going to lose you, do you hear me?"

Ty's emerald green eyes locked on hers. "I...love...you..." Ty panted, in between bouts of pain.

"No, no, don't talk," Amy told him. "You need to conserve your strength," Ty nodded and closed his eyes, his body wracked with spasms of pain. Panic gripped Amy and she called out to anyone who could hear her.

"I need some help over here! Please!"

When Jake awoke, he didn't know where he was or what he was supposed to be doing. Once he looked around at the crumbling lobby, all the memories of the last sixteen hours came rushing back to him. Jake quickly reached out to grab a hold of Sam and make sure she was okay. But he was alone.

"Sam?" Jake called out, slowly getting to his feet. Automatically, the bullet wound in his shoulder blazed with pain and he felt blood sliding down his temple. Pushing his black hair out of his face from where it had come undone from its' leather tie, Jake was suddenly seized in an icy fear. "Sam?"

Jake started walking through the rubble, stumbling over fallen beams and upturned furniture. He gripped his injured shoulder, trying ignore the pain. Then, he noticed a slender arm sticking out from a pile of rubble. Jake rushed forward, his heart thudding hard in his chest. It didn't take long to uncover the body, but who it turned out to be surprised him the most.

The girl's eyes fluttered open and once she fully recognized who held her in his arms, a smirk spread out on her dirt-covered face.

"Rachel?"

"Hazel, calm down, all right?" Mike told the girl, who was still sobbing into Ray. "We can't have you running in there when we're trying to bring people out."

Hazel turned on the district attorney, wiping the tears from her eyes. "Are you really going to tell me how rough its' been out here?" Hazel snapped at him. "Try living through what we just did!"

"You made it out," Ray said to her, putting a hand on her arm. "We got teams of professionals inside searching. Griffen will be all right."

"Are you telling me that I can't go in there right now?" Hazel questioned him. "Is that what you're telling me?"

"If you go in there and risk your life, he's going to be walking out the back, and then he's going to get mad at us for not keeping you safe, ok?" Mike explained to Hazel, trying to keep his temper in check. "Look, here's how it's going to go. You either stay behind the lines where you're safe, or you can be arrested."

"She'll wait, right?" Ray answered for Hazel, not taking his eyes off of her. Hazel looked at him and then back at the lobby. She nodded.

"Are you hurt?" Darrell asked Jen, after they had pulled apart from each other. His eyes took in her appearance, looking for any evidence of injury.

"I don't think so," Jen answered honestly.

"What about the baby?" Darrell asked again. "Is there any pain?"

"No. No, what – what happened?" Jen asked him. "Did we fall?"

"Yeah, I think-" Darrell started, looking down at the floor. "I think we fell, and I tried to shield you."

"I don't even feel anything," Jen mused, shifting her position into a more comfortable one, her hand never straying to far from her belly. "I don't even feel like we've been in an accident."

"You could be in shock, right?" Darrell's gaze shot to hers.

"Darrell, your face is bruised," Jen said, reaching up and touching the side of his face.

"It's okay," Darrell replied, gently removing her hand and standing up. "It's from the fight with Flick." Jen watched him go over to the call box on the other side of the elevator and start playing around with it, trying to see if anything worked. After about a minute, Darrell turned back around to face her with a sigh. "Everything's shut down."

"You mean, we can't call for help?" Jen asked, incredulously.

"Waiting on those I.V. Fluids and blood, nurse!" Matt barked at the medical staff in the triage area from where he stood next to Soraya's gurney.

"On the way, doctor," the nurse told him, before rushing off to the next patient.

"Dr. Matt, did you see Sam in there?" Wyatt asked Matt, eager to hear any news of his daughter.

Matt shook his head and said, "I'm sorry, but I had my hands full."

"My hands are free!" Wyatt pointed out. "Help me get loose!" At that moment, Tim Fleming walked up to Matt, holding an upset Holly. "Damn it," Wyatt muttered.

"How is she?" Tim asked Matt.

"She's alive," Matt answered, looking up at the older man. "I'm not letting her out of my sight."

"How bad is the gunshot wound?" Tim questioned, adjusting his hold on Holly.

"I don't know," Matt said, truthfully. "Until I open up and see what Amy did, I can't tell." He looked down at Soraya, looking very small and fragile on the gurney. "But I'm fighting for her."

"Are you ok?" Will asked Kelly, once he had come to and saw the girl doing the same. He reached out and touched the blonde girl's shoulder, she looked at him.

"Yeah, I think – I think so," Kelly answered, smothering a cough with her hand and then moving her hair out of her face. She looked over at him. "I can't believe you threw yourself on me."

"Did I?" a small smile formed on Will's face. "I guess I wasn't thinking." He stopped and looked confused when Kelly had moved closer to him and ripped the mask off his face and started to unzip his coveralls. "What are you doing?" he asked her.

"Quick, you have to get these off so the rescuers think you're a hostage," Kelly told him, not stopping what she was doing.

"But-"

"Trust me, okay?" she said looking him in the eye. "This is your only chance to get out of here."

Maxine Ely stared at the mass of confusion going in and around the hotel lobby, horror-struck, knowing her sons were somewhere trapped inside the remains of the lobby. Her husband, Luke, stood next to her with his arm around her shoulders, trying to comfort her.

"Mom! Dad!"

Maxine looked up at the sound of her son's voice. Bryan came skidding to a halt in front of them, trying to catch his breath. Before he could say anything, Maxine grabbed her son in a hug.

"Oh, thank god," Maxine breathed. "Where are your brothers? Have you seen them? Are they hurt?"

Bryan pulled away and looked at his parents. He nodded, "I just came from the triage area, Adam's there." Maxine gasped and started running toward the triage area, but Bryan stopped her. "No, stop," he told his mother. "You don't want to see him."

"What are you talking about?" Maxine questioned him, trying to move past her son. "I'm his mother and I need to be with him." She shook off Luke's hand, who had come to stand beside her.

By now, Bryan eyes were brimming with tears and Maxine's heart thudded in her chest, afraid of what he was about to say. "Mom, Adam is de..."

"NO!" came the woman's outburst before Bryan could even finish. She would have collapsed to the ground in a fit of sobs, if her husband hadn't caught her and held her against him, trying to keep his own sorrow from claiming him.

Tim handed Holly to his wife, Helena, after making sure that the two were going to be alright for a few minutes, he walked to where Hazel was talking with the commissioner. As he approached, he could hear what the girl was saying.

"No, he – he never had a chance to tell me how he got in there," Hazel was saying. "I turned around and Jen noticed that Darrell was poising as one of the gunmen, Five,"

"Five?" Ray furrowed his brow in a moment of confusion.

"They used- they used numbers instead of names," Hazel explained. "They wore- they wore masks- except for the one guy. I tore his mask off."

"Tore it off," Tim broke his silence.

"Well, that was either very brave or very reckless," Ray said, briefly looking at Tim.

"No, it took away some of his power," Hazel defended her actions. "It made him a little bit more like us."

"What is did was make him angry and he dressed you like that to punish you, Hazel," Ray replied, gesturing to the coveralls she still wore.

"So that you wouldn't try to get away, you'd look like them?" Tim asked, trying to follow the conversation.

"No, it actually- it made it a lot easier," Hazel told them. "Darrell gave me one of the masks and I was able to sneak away when everyone was distracted."

"I'm sorry, but all I see right now is swat people evacuating more swat people," Tim exclaimed, watching the hotel lobby.

"Kelly! Kelly!" Griffen called out.

"Help," came a strangled cry near him. Griffen hurried over to find a young woman with curly, blonde hair pinned underneath a fallen beam.

"Hey, you hang on," Griffen told her, then he called over his shoulder. "Somebody help me!" An E.M.T came rushing over and together the two of them tried to lift the beam off the woman. It wouldn't budge.

"She's pinned," the E.M.T stated.

Lou coughed, "My baby,"

Griffen looked at the E.M.T. "Just check. Is she going to make it?"

The dark-hair guy looked back him. "You need to get that wound checked," he told Griffen. "Or it'll be you we find here on the next trip."

"Listen, I'm looking for my cousin," Griffen said.

"We've rescued a number of people," the E.M.T replied. "Maybe they're out already."

Reluctantly, Griffen stood up and started to make his way to the front of the lobby, calling out to his cousin, when he saw a familiar tall, blonde figure making her way out of the lobby. "Kelly!" Griffen called to her. Kelly turned, just in time for Griffen to pull her to him in a hug. She hugged him back even tighter.

"It's so good to see you," Kelly said, glancing to where Will stood, telling him with her eyes to go. He did.

"Are you hurt?" Griffen asked her, when he pulled back.

Kelly shook her head, but coughed as she did so.

"You should get checked out anyway," Griffen told her.

"So should you," Kelly said, seeing the blood on his face.

Griffen nodded, "I was just on my way to get checked out. Then I'm going to come back in here, make sure every single person who was in here gets out."

"Well, don't look so surprised," Rachel said, sitting up and moving away from Jake. She started brushing dust and debris off her black coveralls and sighed. "My hair is probably a mess," She pulled her hair out of the ponytail and started fussing with it.

"What are you doing here?" Jake asked, finally finding his voice, and placing his hand on his injured shoulder, putting pressure on the bullet wound.

Rachel's hands dropped down to her sides and looked at him, a smirk spreading across her dirt-smudged face. "Getting revenge,"

"Something's blocking the hatch," Darrell said from where he stood in front of the elevator doors, trying to pry them open. "There's no way to pry these doors open."

"Where do you think we are?" Jen wondered aloud from her spot on the floor.

"I don't know," Darrell sighed, turning his back to the doors. "I think- I think maybe the basement."

"Ok, so how do we get out of here?" Jen asked him.

"We're just going to have to wait for the fire crews," Darrell told her honestly, leaning up against the wall. "They're going to find us eventually."

"What if the building is burning?" Jen asked again, scared at the sudden thought of the building above them in flames.

Seeing the worry on her face, Darrell came over and sat down next to Jen. "Ok, the cops would've shut off the main gas within the first hour to reduce the risk of fire. The lobby's flameproofed."

"So we're relatively safe, right?" Jen looked at him.

"I mean, depends on how much structural damage from the explosion," Darrell shrugged.

"Do you- do you think the hotel collapsed?"

"No, I doubt it," Darrell shook his head. "But there is no telling how much debris is on top of us or how long it's going to take for them to dig us out." Darrell looked at Jen, heavy with child, trapped in an elevator after being held hostage for 12 hours. He looked down at the floor. "I'm sorry,"

"Sorry for what?" Jen asked him.

Darrell pulled his gaze from the floor to look at her. "I knew I couldn't get you out of the lobby before the explosion, so-"

"When Flick's people started shooting and and there was so much chaos, I couldn't-I couldn't see which way to run," Jen said. "How did you find me?"

"I- I just did," Their gazes locked, but Darrell was the first to break contact. "I don't know why the cops cut the power. I was- I was positive that they would wait for the vault to open to storm the lobby. That's why I sent Hazel out there to- to warn them."

"Well, then she must've made it," Jen said.

"I mean, she has a better chance than anyone else, but-"

"I'm trying to remember who was closest to the door," Jen interrupted him.

"That's not necessarily an advantage," Darrell told her. "You know, Flick's people were shooting, the cops were shooting, swat was there, it was dark."

"But Sam and-Jake- oh, and Ryan, he wasn't even near the door," Jen continued.

"Jen, I know that you're scared," Darrell said, trying to calm her down. "The only person you can help is your baby. So just try to stay calm, ok?"

"You're scared, aren't you?" Jen asked, sensing something about him that he was saying or showing.

"I just don't want to lose anyone I care about," Darrell told her.

"We need a medic right now!" Amy yelled, panic rising inside her when she looked back down at Ty, who was now unconscious. "Please we need a medic!" Tears were starting to slide down her cheeks as she watched Ty's chest rise and fall with shallow breaths. She didn't dare look at the wood protruding from him.

"Are you alright, miss?" an EMT asked her, when one finally appeared.

"I'm fine," Amy told him, wiping her face, which she probably only ended up smearing soot across. "But my fiance..." She trailed off as the EMT called to another.

"Get a gurney over here!" he called.

Amy backed away to give the two EMTs room to work, but kept watch steadily. They bent over Ty for several agonizing seconds and then lifted him onto the gurney. "Is he going to be ok?" Amy asked, unable to keep quiet any longer.

The first EMT looked at her and said, "It's too soon to tell,"

"Bryan – Bryan, have you seen Sam?" Wyatt asked when the boy came back into the triage area.

"No, nothing. No," Bryan answered walking up to the older man.

"What kind of damage is done to the lobby?" Wyatt questioned, trying to get as many answers as he could.

"I don't know," Bryan sighed, frustrated. "They won't let us close. We can't even see what's going on."

At that moment, a doctor came over, addressing Bryan. "Hey, hey, we need you help. I want you to listen to Jenna," he gestured to a nurse in a black coat over purple scrubs. "and help with the injured coming out of the hotel, and pay attention to her and no one else."

Bryan looked at Wyatt, dejectedly, as the doctor walked away.

"Now, you heard the doctor," Jenna told Bryan in a soft, but stern voice. "We need blankets, let's get busy. Come on."

"Griffen!"

Griffen was barely out of the hotel when someone launched themselves at him. The honey-chestnut hair told him it was his girlfriend of two years, Hazel. He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her closer to him, as if he were afraid she could disappear at any moment.

"I was so worried," Griffen murmured into her hair.

Hazel pulled back to look into his face. "Now we're even," she said. "Promise you'll never go into an exploding building again?" But as she said it, she knew Griffen could never promise something like that. That just wasn't who he was. He always put others ahead of his own life, he always will, and that's what Hazel loved about him.

Meanwhile, Kelly had slipped quietly away and was now making her way to the secluded spot behind the police cars hidden in the shadows of a nearby alley. He was standing there, waiting for her.

"Why are you doing this for me?" Will asked her.

"Because you wouldn't shoot me when I got you locked in the vault, and you didn't press the detonator when Flick yelled at you." Kelly answered honestly. She reached down and took his hand in hers. "You're not a bad person, you just have really bad judgment sometimes, and I know what that's like."

Before either one of them could say anything else, Will leaned down and gave her a soft kiss on the lips. Kelly answered with another kiss, wrapping her arms around him. For now, it was just the two of them in their little, secluded spot of pure bliss.

"Can you stand?" Rachel asked Jake.

Jake stared at her. "Since when do you care what happens to me?"

"I just do, alright?" Rachel said defensively. "You were never meant to get hurt. He said it was only supposed to be Sam, he lied to me."

Just hearing her mention Sam's name made Jake's blood boil. He wanted to jump on her and demand she tell him everything she knows. But he didn't, he stayed quiet. Rachel didn't notice his silence, she just kept talking.

"I only went along with plan because Flick told me I'd be rewarded with anything I desired," Rachel continued. "I had no idea what the plan involved or even what was in the briefcase, just that there was a big payoff at the end."

While Rachel was talking, Jake spotted a glint of silver lying next to the girl. A handgun. Ignoring the intense pain in his shoulder, Jake dove for it before Rachel could see it. The girl gasped and yelled at him, pushing him away from her. She froze when she saw Jake holding the gun in his uninjured hand and then a whole lot of debris came crashing down.

Matt rushed into the emergency room pushing Soraya's stretcher, along with other paramedics and victims from the explosion. A blonde nurse about in her mid-thirties came running up to him.

"I paged Dr. Parker and they're prepping the O.R." she told him. "Has she been conscious at all?"

Matt shook his head, keeping his eyes on Soraya,"Not since I brought her out of the lobby,"

"Is it true you operated on her in the hotel lobby?" the nurse asked in a whisper.

Matt nodded, and then yelled over his shoulder. "Where the hell is Parker?"

"On his way," the nurse told him. She put a hand on his arm causing him to look at her. "Soraya is going to be okay now, Matt."

Matt wasn't so sure. "She needs to get to the O.R." he said, then much louder, so that everybody could hear him. "Do they know she's dealing with immuno-compromise? She's probably got early peritonitis."

"Don't you ever say 'please'?" came a small, but strong voice. Matt looked down at the stretcher and almost fell over with relief when he saw Soraya's brown eyes staring back up at him.

Tim watched Hazel and Griffen hug, and wished desperately that that was him holding his daughters right now. He looked back toward the triage area to see his Helena carrying, what looked to be, a sleeping Holly. He turned back toward the hotel in time to one of his daughters walk out of the lobby with help of an EMT.

"Dad," Lou said, hurrying the rest of the way to her father. Tim gathered her in his arms, holding her tight.

"I'm so glad you're alright," Tim replied.

"Did Scott come out yet?" Lou asked, when they pulled apart. "Where's Holly?"

Tim shook his head, "Helena has Holly, last time I saw her, she was sleeping." he told her. Lou nodded, and then doubled over, clutching her stomach. Tim grabbed a hold of her to keep her from falling. "What's wrong?" he asked.

Lou looked up at him, fear evident in her cornflower blue eyes, and said, "Something's wrong with the baby,"

"We're down here! Hey!" Darrell yelled out through the top of the elevator from where he stood on the side of elevator on the handrail. After a minute of silence, Darrell jumped down with a growl.

"This must've been a nightmare for you," Jen suddenly said.

Darrell's head snapped toward her. "For me?"

"Well, I just realized that out of everybody in that lobby, you had the most to lose," Jen replied. "Your best friend, Sam,...me. I'm sure they all got out though."

Darrell came over to sit beside her. "I got- I got to the lobby minutes after Flick took over." Darrell explained. "Doors were darkened, and-and I- I saw a gunman through an open spot in the paint. Cops showed up, I knew they were going to follow their protocol, and when they did, everybody in that lobby would be trapped."

"Is that how Ryan got into the hotel- he's working with you?" Jen asked.

"Uh, not exactly," Darrell admitted. "He bailed me out of jail, and then followed me into the hotel. I need tech support, so he stayed."

"Oh," Jen said, trying to stifle a laugh. "You and Ryan make a interesting team."

"Ok, thank you," Darrell replied, smiling. "Um- it's for the computer, ok? The guy can do anything. I mean, he pulled up footage of the lobby cameras before they were blackened. I could Sam and Jake, the rest of the hostages and you. You know, I kept making Ryan play the footage over and over and over, and I told it was- it was to study Flick, when, really, I just wanted- I needed to see all of you alive, to, you know, believe I could keep you that way."

"You did everything you could," Jen assured him, putting a hand on his arm.

"I waited too long," Darrell said, not meeting her eyes.

"Are you telling me you think you did something wrong in there?" Jen asked him, removing her hand from him.

"Bryan, Sam is still in there," Wyatt said to Bryan, who had just walked by with medical supplies in his hands.

"Yeah, I know," Bryan retorted, turning around to face Wyatt. "They're bringing people out as fast as they can."

"Well, I'm going in after her and you're going to help me," Wyatt told him. "These people are equal opportunity rescuers. Sam is my priority- I'm betting she's yours too- now, help me!"

"How am I supposed to help you?" Bryan asked, throwing his hands up in the air.

"Help me!" Wyatt repeated.

"There's nothing-" Bryan stopped when he saw a police officer lying on a gurney with a sheet pulled over top of him.

"Ok, now, these supplies are not going to move themselves, so get busy," the nurse, Jenna ordered him. "Make yourself useful!"

Bryan started to walk away. "Bryan? Bryan, get back here, you little bastard!" Bryan ignored him and walked over to the dead police officer. Discreetly, he plucked the ring of keys off of him and then picked up a pile of blankets. He handed them off to another girl helping out in the triage area and then headed back to Wyatt. Without stopping, he tossed the keys to Wyatt.

"Thanks," Wyatt caught the keys. "Sorry about the 'bastard' thing."

"Get Sam out of there," Bryan told him. "Go."

Amy rushed to keep up with the two EMTs pushing the gurney that carried Ty. Finally, they burst outside and the EMTs started at a run toward the triage area. Amy tried to follow hard, but she was still weak from being trapped inside.

"Amy!"

Amy turned at the sound of her stepmother's voice. Helena came running up holding Holly's hand, the little girl was rubbing her eyes as if she had just woken up. Amy hugged her stepmother and niece, happy to see her family.

"Honey, what's the matter," Helena asked, seeing Amy's tears.

"It's Ty," Amy broke down. "They just brought him out, unconscious, and they won't tell me anything." Helena pulled her into her arms again. "I want to go with him to the hospital,"

"We will, sweetheart," Helena told her. "We will."

They started to make their way to the triage area, when Holly pulled her hand from Helena's. "Daddy!" the little girl squealed and she ran off. Amy and Helena both called to Holly to stop, until they realized who she was running to. Scott had just come out of the lobby.

As soon as she reached him, Scott scooped up his daughter and held onto her as if he would never let go. Amy could see that both father and daughter were crying and she felt tears start falling down her face again, wishing her own father was here with her. She turned to Helena.

"Where is my dad?" Amy asked.

"He's with Lou at the hospital," Helena answered, grimly.

"What are you going to do, shoot me?" Rachel questioned him as she stood up. "I've got news for you. You won't get away with it, my dad will make sure you get locked away for life."

"Be quiet," Jake ordered her, moving past her.

"Besides, if you shoot off that gun in this already unstable place, mostly like you won't get out of here alive," Rachel ignored him and kept talking.

Jake stepped in front of her. "Rachel, shut up!" Rachel's eyes grew wide as she stared at something behind him. It was Flick. He was picking up the equinox briefcase, completely oblivious of who was standing right there. That is, until Jake turned around to face Flick and pulled the trigger on the gun.

"How do you feel?" Matt asked Soraya, when they got settled in a cubicle in the emergency room. He knelt by her stretcher, stroking her soft, black curls.

"Huh, happy to be out of that hotel," Soraya answered, her voice still hoarse, but getting stronger. "Happy to see you."

"You know, you were nothing but trouble all night," Matt told her, taking her hand with his free one.

"What else is new?" Soraya grinned. Matt grinned back and leaned down to give her a kiss on the lips.

"You really scared me," Matt said, when he pulled back.

"You were great during my surgery," Soraya replied. "You know, there's this Chinese proverb that says 'If you save someone, you basically own them'?"

"Is that right?" Matt said. "I like the sound of that." He leaned down to gave her a kiss on the forehead.

"You know what's going on here," Wyatt was telling the commissioner after he had uncuffed himself from the drainpipe. "You want to be in there as bad as I do."

"I took an oath," Ray turned on Wyatt, trying not show that that was exactly how he was feeling right now. "I have a community counting on me not to let this situation turn into chaos."

"Ray, if you turn your back for two seconds," Wyatt went off. "I swear the justice system isn't going to crumble."

Flick staggered back a few steps, but remained standing. He pulled down the zipper on his coveralls to examine the bullet hole, then looked back at Jake. While he was busy, Rachel had picked up the briefcase from where it had fallen.

"Bulletproof vest?" Jake guessed, gun still pointed at Flick.

"I believe in taking the necessary precautions," Flick said, calmly.

"There's nothing protecting that spot between your eyes," Jake threatened. "Take the briefcase and go, Rachel."

"Give me the briefcase," Flick ordered. All three of them looked up briefly at the sound of creaking from above. "You have no possible use for it, and it will save me the trouble of killing you for it."

More debris fell from the ceiling.

Flick continued, "I never intended to bring the building down. I knew there was a chance, however slight, that I'd be stuck inside when the charges detonated, but this structure is dangerously unstable, and if you fire another shot, what's left of the second floor might fall down on lovely Rachel's head."

More creaking from above.

"Or you can give me the briefcase and go," Flick finished.

"Why should I let you leave with what you came here for, Flick?" Jake questioned.

Before Flick could say anything, the sound of Quinn's voice rang out through the lobby. It sounded like he was warning the rescue workers about something.

"No, please stop," Quinn warned the workers, who were trying to dislodge a beam. "You guys probably know what you're doing, but -um- that's a support beam, so you might not want to-"

He never got finished because the second floor started to come down on top all the people who were still in the lobby. Jake shouted at Rachel to get down and then everything dissolved into darkness."

"I don't feel any heat," Darrell said from where he was pressed against the elevator doors. He looked up at the ceiling. "You know what? Maybe I can take one of these – these bars off the ceiling, try to pry the doors open."

"But even if you could get the doors open, we're in the basement, right?" Jen contradicted.

"Yeah, I mean, the best case-" Darrell started to explain. "We'll be able to get out of the elevator, but we're still going to have climb up to the wreckage."

"Ok, so wouldn't it just be a lot simpler and safer if we stay here and wait to be rescued?" Jen questioned him.

"Yeah, probably," Darrell shrugged.

"Such an honest man," Jen said mostly to herself, but Darrell still heard her. "I don't think you've ever lied to me."

"What- what does that have to do with anything?" Darrell asked her, coming to sit down beside her again.

"Nothing," Jen averted his gaze and changed the subject. "Do you blame yourself for this explosion?"

"I just was waiting to see who had the detonator," Darrell replied, honestly. "Once Flick took it, I jumped him. I just wasn't fast enough."

"And that's when the police fired tear gas through the windows, right?" Jen remembered the scene right before the explosion. "And everybody starting shooting, and you and- and Flick were fight in the dark? Am I right?" She looked at him. Darrell nodded. "And somehow it's your fault that you couldn't get to the detonator? Darrell, you know I think you are – you are strong and – and smart and fearless, but you are not a superhero." She adjusted herself, so that she was more comfortable and looked Darrell in the eye. "There is no way you or anybody else could've stopped this building from exploding, because that's what Flick intended all along."

"I – I didn't – I didn't mean to upset you," Darrell apologized.

"I'm not upset," Jen told him. "I just can't believe that you would put your life on the line, and you gave every single one of the those hostages a chance to survive, and yet you're sitting here telling me that you didn't think you did – did enough? I-"

Jen gasped and her hand went to her stomach.

"Are- are you okay?" Darrell asked, worry filling his voice.

"Baby's kicking," Jen told him. "Give me your hand." Jen reached for his hand and place it in the spot on her stomach the baby was just kicking. It took a few seconds, but Darrell's face erupted into a smile and Jen knew he felt the baby kick.

"He thinks you're ridiculous, too." Jen said.

"What your- your baby thinks I'm ridiculous?" Darrell questioned, laughing a little.

Jen looked down at the floor, suddenly realizing what she had to do. "You're the reason this baby's alive," Jen told him. "Darrell, Ryan's not the father of this baby. You are."

**A/N:** The long-awaited chapter is here. I know there are some disgruntled readers out there, that are maybe a little upset over what did or didn't happen in this chapter. Please review and tell me what you think.


	16. Aftermath part 2

**Chapter Fifteen  
By: TheEquestrianWriter**

The emergency room doors burst open as the EMTs pushed the stretcher carrying an unconscious Ty Baldwin. He hadn't woken at all the whole way to the hospital. A few seconds afterward, Amy, Helena, Scott, and Holly came running through those doors. A doctor had just rushed up to the stretcher and the EMTs were rattling off Ty's condition.

"He's sustained a lot of blood loss and we have no idea how extent the damage inside the abdomen is," one EMT was saying.

"He's stable for now, but we've got to get this wood out of him," Dr. Erik Parker said, after he checked Ty's vitals. "If anybody is in the OR, get them out now, I'm not waiting." A nurse started to wheel Ty's stretcher away, Amy stepped forward.

"Could I just have a moment alone with him?" she asked the doctor. The doctor and nurse exchanged glances. "I'm his fiancee, please?"

Finally, Erik nodded. "Be quick,"

As the medical staff stepped away, Amy moved next to Ty's unmoving form. She took his hand in hers and gazed at him steadily, wanting him to open his eyes and tell her that he's going to be okay. Amy blinked back the tears that were filling her eyes and cleared her throat.

"Ty," Amy whispered, her voice so soft, she almost had trouble hearing it. "I don't know if you can hear me, but you have to make it through this. I—I don't know what I'd do if- if something happened to you." Tears were now falling down her face, but Amy continued. "I need you, Ty. Please...please come back to me."

Amy straightened up when the nurse came to take Ty away, giving Amy a sad smile as she did. Slowly, Amy let go of Ty's hand and watched as they wheeled him down the hall to the OR. Choking on a sob, Amy turned and collapsed into her father's arms, who had just walked up behind her. She cried over the fact, that once again Ty had put his life in jeopardy for something or somebody he loved.

* * *

"Do you know what it was like to operate on you in a hotel lobby?" Matt was saying to Soraya, from where he sat next Soraya's bed in the tiny cubicle. "With fishing line and duct tape?"

"Poor baby," Soraya teased him. "I mean, tell me about it?"

"Well, that's easy for you," Matt said, his thumb stroking her hand that was clasped in his. "You just had to lie there, we did all the work." Matt leaned down and captured Soraya's lips with his own. She answered his kiss, burying her hands in his messy, blonde hair. They held each other, afraid the other might slip through and disappear.

"Okay, you two lovebirds," a nurse said, pushing open the curtain that separated them from the rest of the ER and walked in. The older nurse looked at Soraya. "How are you feeling?"

"Uh-" Soraya winced as she felt a dull pain in her stomach. "Like I've been filleted."

"Yeah," the nurse mused as she wrote down Soraya's vitals from the machines hooked up to her on the medical chart she held. Matt looked at the nurse.

"What's going on with the OR?" he asked.

"Dr. Parker had an emergency surgery," the nursed answered when she finished writing, she looked back at him. "Since Soraya is stable, they're going to take the most critical first."

Matt looked back at Soraya with a worried expression on his face. Before he could say anything, Soraya spoke up. "It's okay," she reassured him. "I—I'm in no hurry to have another operation."

* * *

"Sam!"

Wyatt Forster yelled from the entrance of the hotel as the last of the second floor crumbled to the ground and the dust and debris settled. He could hear coughing coming from deep within the lobby, and saw slight movement in the darkness as the people who were caught in the collapse struggled to their feet. Wyatt stepped carefully into the lobby, watching out for any falling debris or sparking electrical wire.

"Sam!"

Griffen ran back to the police line, coughing and trying to get clean air into his lungs. He had gone back into the lobby to continue to help with the rescue efforts after he gotten the all clear from the doctors in the triage area. Hazel grabbed his arm when he came to a stop, worry evident in her blue-gray eyes.

"Are you okay?" she asked him as Commissioner Ray Jones walked up to them.

Griffen nodded and then turned to the commissioner. "A support pillar collapsed,"

"All right," Ray said. "We got search-and-rescue dogs coming in from Reno. Let the crews inside pull out as many people as they can. Right now, nobody goes back in."

* * *

"I'm- I'm your baby's father?" Darrell asked, in disbelief. He stared at Jen, mouth slightly open, trying to process what she just said. His mind didn't seem to be working all of a sudden, he just kept repeating what Jen had said in his head.

Jen nodded, slowly, "Yes."

Finally, Darrell shook his head. "Jen, you've been traumatized," he told her. "I don't- I don't really think you know what you're saying."

"This is not a mistake," Jen said firmly. "I've known since I got the results back from the paternity test. Darrell, this is your baby."

Darrell rubbed his hands through his hair and down his face, sighing inwardly. After what seemed like hours, when it was only a few minutes, went by, Darrell dropped his hand and looked at Jen. He asked the first question that broke through the fog around his brain.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

* * *

Rachel groaned as she regained consciousness and every part of her body screamed in agony. Luckily, nothing felt broken or sprained, her body just hurt like hell. She pulled herself up on her elbows and saw Jake lying about a foot away from her, half-buried by debris, unconscious. Rachel started to reach for him to see if he was still breathing, when she saw the briefcase and the gun lying in between them.

Ignoring the protests her body gave her, Rachel stood up, picking up the briefcase and gun as she did so. She surveyed her surroundings. There a few rescue workers pulling hostages and officers both free of the destruction, while trying to avoid falling debris and the exposed wires. Rachel couldn't help but flinch when the those wires sent off large sparks.

"Put it down, Miss Rachel," Rachel turned slowly around to face Flick, who continued saying. "Give me the briefcase and it will all be over."

Rachel didn't move, the gun wavering in her left hand.

"This place is too unstable for a gunfight," Flick told her. "Give me the briefcase and walk away. Now!"

Before Rachel could say or do anything, there was a rumble of noise from above them, almost like something getting ready to fall to the ground. Taking advantage of Rachel's dropped guard, Flick lunged toward her. He grabbed the briefcase out of her hand and bolted for the exit.

No one saw him leave.

* * *

"I'm conscious and, well, relatively pain-free right now," Soraya said to Matt, after the nurse had left them alone in the cubicle. "I'd like to stay that way for a while."

"You need more surgery," Matt stated, matter-of-factly.

"Eventually," Soraya replied.

"Hey, you were shot point-blank, operated on with no anesthesia, sewn up with fishing line and duct tape," Matt told her, entwining his fingers with hers. "If you think I'm going to let something happen to you now, you don't know me at all."

"Oh, really? Ow." Soraya winced as her stomach muscles contracted with pain. "Here it comes- the man does something amazing and heroic and suddenly he thinks he knows everything."

"I guess there's only one way to shut you up then, isn't there?" Matt teased as he leaned down once again and kissed her.

* * *

"Are you sure you're okay?" Lou asked her husband, where she sat in the hospital bed in the tiny cubicle. Holly was curled up in her arms and Scott sat on a stool next to the bed.

"I'm the one who's supposed to be asking you that question," Scott said as he leaned forward, elbows on the bed. "But I've been checked by a doctor and given the all clear. Now, how are you?"

Lou sighed, pulling Holly closer to her. "I don't feel any pain, not like I felt before. Actually, I don't feel anything at all, and that scares me more."

Scott laid his hand on Lou's rounded belly and said, "Everything's going to be fine- it has to be,"

Lou put her hand on top of his and opened her mouth to say something when the curtain was pulled back and Dr. Olivia Carson walked into the cubicle. The doctor's face was grim and Lou felt fear settle in her stomach and she clutched Scott's hand tightly.

"I wish I came with better news, but..." Dr. Carson paused, gauging their reactions, but neither said anything. "The baby is in fetal distress and if I don't do an emergency c-section now, there's a good chance the baby won't make it."

"But I'm only 6 months along, the baby...will be too premature," Lou protested, she looked from the doctor to Scott and back again. She could feel tears brimming in her eyes.

"I'm afraid we have no other choice," Dr. Carson told her, grimly.

* * *

Brynna Forster hurried up to Bryan, who was still watching the ugly scene before him. "Hey, Bryan, have you seen Wyatt?" she asked the younger man.

"Yeah, he went inside to look for Sam," Bryan told her honestly.

Seeing the look that crossed Bryan's face, fear gnawed at Brynna's heart. "What?" she heard herself asking.

"There's been another collapse inside," Bryan said, looking at her.

"What do you mean, there's been-" Brynna started toward the hotel, but Bryan grabbed her arm, stopping her.

"No, no, no, no, forget it," Bryan told her. "I overheard the police saying that no one's going back in until they know what the conditions are like inside there."

* * *

"No, wait, wait," Quinn was protesting as two rescue workers were ushering him to the exit. "My brothers were right next to me, I have-"

"We'll keep looking for them," one of them told him. They all stopped, however, when they heard a low groaning come from somewhere behind them. Quinn looked just in time to see a pile of rubble shudder slightly. He and the two rescue workers started working at getting the debris off the person who was trapped under there. It was Nate they uncovered, and he lay clutching his right arm, but he was alive.

"Boy, am I glad to see you guys," Nate gave a tight smile, but grimaced at the pain in his arm. Along with the rescue workers, Quinn helped his brother to his feet.

Across the ruined lobby, a paramedic was helping Rachel to her feet from where she fell when Flick had grabbed the briefcase from her. She smothered a cough as the paramedic took her by the arm and started to lead her to the exit. Rachel gave a sideways glance to where Jake still lay unconscious, unnoticed by everyone.

Before she knew what she was doing, Rachel stopped and turned around. "Wait," she said to the paramedic. "There's man over here, he's been shot." She started back the way they came, back to Jake, the paramedic saying the whole time that she had to get out now. When they reached him, the paramedic automatically bent down to examine Jake.

"Rach?"

The voice was hoarse, but it was familiar, and Rachel recognized who it was even before she had turned around. She turned around to see her twin brother standing there looking haggard, but relatively unharmed. Rachel ran to him and threw her arms around him.

"Rachel, what are you doing here?" Ryan asked her, as he hugged her back.

"That doesn't matter," Rachel answered instead, pulling back. "What matters is that you're safe and that we have each other."

* * *

"Were you afraid for the baby?" Darrell asked.

Jen shook her head, "No, no."

"Or is it because of me, you regretted what happened between us?" Darrell questioned, trying to make sense of all this. "What?"

"No-" Jen started to say.

"Is that it?" Darrell pressed.

"Darrell, I know that you would never let anything bad happen to our child," Jen said. Darrell got up suddenly just then, and Jen watched as he paced slightly. Finally, he turned back to face her.

"Then- then why?" he asked her.

"Because...I was—still am—married, remember?" Jen explained looking up at him. "Just because we slept together and had a child together didn't change that. I love Ryan, I do, and didn't want to hurt him, not after everything he's done for me...But I knew there was chance you could be the father, so I had a paternity test done and it only confirmed what I so desperately wanted to be true. That you're the father of this baby."

"They why- why not just say it?" Darrell asked again.

"Because Ryan was so excited when I told him I was pregnant," Jen answered, her arms encircled her belly as she remembered. "He started to clear out the nursery, he'd already bought a crib and a bouncy seat. I couldn't break his heart and tell him it wasn't his child."

"So you just let him and everyone else believe-" Darrell could feel his temper rising, he fought to keep it at bay.

"Not everyone, Sam figured it out," Jen said in a low whisper.

"Sam? Sam knew..." Darrell turned and punched the wall behind him, letting out a growl of frustration.

Jen flinched. "I didn't have a plan, ok, Darrell?" Jen told him, getting to her feet. "I had just found out that I was carrying your child. And Ryan kept saying how it was a good thing, and how he had waited for this for so long and...I don't know..."

Darrell turned to look at her, "So you kept it a secret from me?"

* * *

Amy stood looking through the observation window of the OR at the surgeons preparing to operate on her fiance. She fingered her engagement ring, looking down at it. _Ty must have planned an entire evening to give me this, _she thought. _Now, he's in there fighting for his life. _Suddenly, she felt a presence walk up behind her.

"How's Soraya?" Amy asked, staring through the window.

"The doctor says she's stable for now, but she needs more surgery," Tim answered, standing next to his daughter.

Amy nodded, "And Lou?"

"They're preparing to do an emergency c-section," Tim said, sullenly. "The baby was in fetal distress and they didn't have much time."

Amy quickly looked at her father, "It's that bad?"

Tim nodded.

Amy looked back at the window. The doctors and nurses were just starting the surgery and Amy could feel the tears filling her eyes. "He has to make it, Dad," Amy whispered to her father. "I don't know what I'd do, if..." Amy couldn't finished that sentence. Tim pulled her to him and she let out a big sob and started weeping into her father's shoulder.

_Ty, please come back to me,_ Amy thought.

* * *

"The night I found out, I was going to call and leave you a message," Jen was saying as she took Darrell's hands in her own. "But then I realized it was something I needed to do face to face."

"Sam got to me first," Darrell put in.

Jen nodded, "She had it figured out before I could even tell her, she knew me that well."

"When you came to see me, were you-" Darrell hesitated, looking down at the floor for a second and then looking back up at her. "Were you going to tell me the baby was mine?"

"I wanted to," Jen admitted. "But you already thought Ryan was the father, and you said it was for the best."

"Okay, I'd thought you wanted Ryan to be the father, Jen," Darrell said, shaking his head, trying to rid himself of the confusion he was feeling.

"I didn't know what I wanted," Jen replied, turning her back on him and putting her face in her hands. "I thought I had lost Ryan forever. I- the man I loved, the man I married- he would never lie to me, he would never cheat on me, he would never sleep with another woman in my own bed." She was aware that she was getting hysterical, but she couldn't stop.

"I didn't know what I wanted anymore. Ryan was my safe place and I needed him, but we made a baby together and I will never regret that. But this is not something either one of us intended to happen, and I honestly believed, for everyone's sake, that it would be better if you never knew."

"If you thought you were protecting the baby,- now I'm angry," Darrell balled his hands into fists and this time he kicked at the wall with his foot. Then he pounded on it with his fists, when he stopped he leaned his forehead against his forearms. "But if you thought you were protecting me from wanting to take care of you or loving my own child, that just doesn't even make any sense. I- I thought you knew me better than that."

When Darrell looked back at Jen, she had tears streaming down her face and her glasses were fogging up. "I'm so sorry," she whispered, before crumpling in a heap on the floor.

* * *

Maxine Ely stood with her husband, Luke, by the triage area, her eyes sweeping the area in front of the hotel, waiting for any sign of her other three sons. She clutched a tissue in her hands, fiddling with it, trying not to break down again. She needed to be strong for her other sons. Luke had his hands on his wife's shoulders, gently kneading them.

"Nobody's seen them, mom!" Bryan said when he came running over to his parents. "Not Nate, Quinn, or Jake." Maxine covered her face with hands, trying hard not to cry.

"Hey, hey, they'll be okay," Luke consoled his wife, his hands moving down her arms.

Maxine shook free of his grasp and started forward a few steps. "There's probably debris everywhere, they could be buried under rubble!" she cried. Luke hurried up and took her into his arms.

"Don't go there," Luke said. "They're fine- you have to believe that."

"Mom, look!" Bryan suddenly shouted, coming to stand beside his parents. Maxine picked her head up and looked to where her son was pointing.

"Oh my god!" Maxine breathed, and then ran forward to grab Quinn and Nate, who was clutching his right arm to his chest, in a hug. "I'm so glad you're okay... well for the most part." She looked at Nate's arm.

"I think it's just a sprained wrist," Nate told his mother, trying to make her feel better.

"Regardless, you're both getting checked out," Maxine said, sternly, then looked over their shoulders toward the hotel. "Where's Jake?"

"They were—um- bringing him out behind us," Sure enough, after Quinn said that, a paramedic came out of the hotel pushing a gurney with Jake lying on top of it.

He wasn't moving.

* * *

Wyatt emerged from a hallway, very frustrated and even more scared than he was when he first came in. He pushed aside some fallen beams and debris, searching for any sign of his daughter, shouting her name. A firefighter started to walk pass him when Wyatt stopped him.

"Hey, I'm looking for a girl- auburn hair, green eyes, about this tall," Wyatt told him, describing his daughter for the man.

"Sorry, buddy, we're mostly recovering bodies right now," the fireman answered, with a shake of his head. "Are you a hostage? Because we got-"

"No, I'm her father!" Wyatt all but yelled at the firefighter.

"Since the last collapse, no one's been calling for help," the fireman said calmly. He walked over to a few other firefighters. "Let's go."

Wyatt watched them go, his heart about to pound out of his chest. "Sam!" He ducked as more debris fell from the ruined second floor. "Sam!"

* * *

Amy walked back to the waiting room, she was unable to watch the surgery any longer. When he saw her approaching, Scott handed Holly to Helena, who was sitting next to him, and walked up to her. He put a hand on her arm, making her stop and look at him.

"Hey- you okay?" Scott asked her.

Amy nodded, sniffling. "How's Lou?"

"The doctors are prepping her for an emergency c-section," Scott explained. "It's pretty bad."

"My dad told me," Amy said. "Have you seen Soraya?"

"She's in cubicle three," Scott told her. "Do you want to go in?"

Amy nodded, and together she and Scott walked to Soraya's cubicle. When they opened the curtain, Matt was sitting on the stool next to the bed, leaning over her best friend. As they heard the curtain draw back, they pulled away from each other.

"Hi," Soraya started first. "I'm so glad you're okay."

"I told you you'd make it," Amy replied.

"Isn't it considered bad manners to gloat?" Soraya teased and Amy laughed.

"I was just telling Soraya how escaping follow-up surgery isn't an option," Matt explained to his brother and best friend as they moved closer to the bed.

"They- uh – have to remove the bullet," Scott spoke up from next to Amy.

"So Matt tells me," Soraya rolled her eyes at her husband.

"Yeah, I'm sorry, Soraya," Amy added. "I- we didn't have the time or the equipment-"

"Amy, I'm not complaining," Soraya said. "You- you saved my life."

"No, I didn't do anything," Amy replied. "This g- Matt's the real hero."

"No, you were brilliant," Matt corrected her, her looked at his wife, before returning to look at Amy. "She did save your life, and, I, for one, am very grateful to you. Thank you."

"Glad I could help," Amy said, smiling at them.

"Well, that's the Amy I know," Soraya replied. "She says 'glad I could help' – after she just saved your life like she opened the door for you." She looked at all three of them standing around her bed. "Look at you- my personal rescue squad. I don't even- I don't know how to thank you."

"Just get better, okay?" Amy told her best friend. "I'm not going to accept anything less. When we get out of here, we're going to go and have a girls' night out, all right?"

Soraya smiled, "Yeah,"

* * *

Ryan and Rachel came out of the hotel, dirt-covered and clutching each other. A paramedic came rushing up to them, handing them both blankets and ushering them to the triage area. Rachel wrapped the blanket around herself, while Ryan looked around frantically, searching for any signs of her. As the nurse was checking them both over, Brynna Forster approached them.

"Hey, did you guys see Wyatt?" she asked them.

"No, I didn't," Ryan answered, truthfully, looking past the woman's shoulder. "Where's Jen? Is she alright?" The look that passed over Brynna's face made Ryan's heart plummet.

"She never came out?" Ryan asked, to be sure.

Brynna shook her head. "No, I thought she was with you."

"No, I haven't seen her since the explosion," Ryan said, fear clawing at his chest as he looked back at the hotel. Thinking that most of the survivors had gotten out already, and those that hadn't were most likely... He didn't dare finish that thought.

"The night I came to your apartment, I told you this was our baby," Jen said, after she had calmed herself down, and wiped her face and glasses clean of tears. She sat with her back against the wall. "Then I realized that you were drunk and you probably wouldn't remember what I'd said. But there was a moment, when I thought it had gotten through, and I had hoped that you would remember."

"I knew you said something important," Darrell remembered, running his hand across his eyes. "The next morning, I called you and asked you about it, remember?"

Jen nodded, "Yeah, and I should've told you," She pulled her legs up as close to her body as they could go. "I wanted so badly to talk to you. Not just because you're the father, but as my friend, because you've always been there for me."

"All those conversations you started and you stopped it," Darrell said, everything finally clicking. "It all makes sense now. And why you seemed so sad, why you couldn't make a clean break with Ryan, but you couldn't take him back, either."

"It kills me that I had to lie to him," Jen replied, honestly. "But he doesn't even know we slept together. And I know I should've have told him the morning after it happened, but he came back and apologized for everything he said and did and he promised to be the husband that I deserve. I was so afraid that it would drive him away and- I guess I've been afraid ever since, and I know that doesn't change the way I betrayed his trust- or yours."

"I never even asked you straight out if I was the father," Darrell scolded himself, his hands on his hips. "How stupid am I?"

Jen shook her head, "Don't make excuses for me,"

"I'm not," Darrell said, looking at her. "I'm just trying to understand."

"Well, that makes two of us," Jen replied, stretching her legs out in front of her. "Because all I've done ever since I found out you were the father is try to figure out what was best for this baby."

Darrell moved to sit down next to her and took her hand in his and said, "Maybe we can figure it out together."

* * *

Jake awoke to a blinding, white light, unable to move his left arm and somebody holding onto to his right hand. When his vision cleared, he found his left arm encased in a sling with a bandage on the gunshot wound and his mother was sitting by his bed. Jake cleared his throat, wishing he had something to drink. Like the mother she was, Maxine handed him a cup of water.

"You don't know how glad I am to see you looking at me like that," Maxine said as he drank, looking on the verge of tears. "I've been so worried."

"Where is everyone?" Jake asked, after he had place the now-empty cup on the side table.

"Your father and brothers are down in the cafeteria getting something to eat," Maxine answered. "I wanted to wait here in case you woke up."

"Sam?" Jake asked again.

"I'm sorry, Jake," Maxine looked truly sorry for her son. "They haven't found her yet." Even before she had finished, Jake had thrown the blankets off of him and started to get out of the bed. Maxine pushed him back down. "Whoa, whoa, you're not going anywhere,"

"Mom, Sam is trapped somewhere in that hotel," Jake said, still sitting half-up in the bed. "I'm the reason she was even in there to begin with. I have to find her."

"Jake, I know you always have the urge to save and protect her, but there are rescue workers doing everything they can-"

"Mom, please-"

"Jake, I'm sorry," Maxine said, firmly, in her no-nonsense voice. "You were shot and lost a good amount of blood, plus there is still risk for an infection. You must stay in the hospital."

Jake stared back at his mother. "You can't make me stay," he said in a low voice. "I'm going back to that hotel and I'm not leaving until Sam is out, alive and unharmed."

* * *

Wyatt moved some ruined furniture out of his way in his search for his daughter. There was still heavy smoke in the air, making it impossible to see anything, and the electrical wires sparking more intensely now. But nothing was going to stop him from finding his daughter, except a rescue worker came up to him and grabbed his arm, preventing him from moving.

"All civilians have to evacuate," he ordered Wyatt.

"I'm not going anywhere," Wyatt told the rescue worker, jerking his arm free. "I'm looking for my daughter."

"We're bringing in rescue dogs," the rescue worker warned.

"Well, bring them in!" Wyatt exclaimed and started to walk away. "I'm not going anywhere without my kid! Sam!"

There was a very loud, and possibly dangerous, creaking from above and Wyatt couldn't keep the panic that rose in his voice. "Sam!" he shouted and more debris fell.

* * *

"I never had any doubt that you would be a good father," Jen said, tearing her eyes away from their joined hands to look at him. "I just couldn't see how this baby would fit into your life?"

"Just—just one thing at a time, okay?" Darrell told her. "We need to figure out what's right for this baby."

"But it isn't that simple," Jen replied. "I'm married to Ryan, and I do love him and I- I don't want to hurt him."

"I know," Darrell agreed. "It's going to be hard for Ryan to hear that you're- that you're having my child and not his. But I can't do anything to change it."

"Would you want to?" Jen asked him.

"When I found out that Ryan was the baby's father, a part of me was relieved, but-" Darrell answered, truthfully. "I have to be honest, the other part of me felt like I lost something. And every time I saw you, especially when you started to show, I'd have this moment where I'd think, that could've been my child. Now you're telling me it is. I know all the reasons this is complicated and I'm sorry for anybody who's going to be hurt, but you and I made this baby together. And I can't regret that miracle. I want our child. I want it more than anything."

* * *

Ryan stood staring at the hotel, seconds away from running into the lobby himself. The only thing that stopped him was the pressure of Rachel's hand on his arm, preventing him from doing just that. Ryan sigh, frustrated that he couldn't do anything but stand here and wait.

"When was the last time you saw Jen?" Rachel asked her brother, trying to get him to calm down.

"I told you, just before the explosion," Ryan answered. "She was all the way on the other side of the lobby. I was going to try get her to the office corridor so we could sneak out the back without the gunmen firing at us, but it- we only had 60 seconds and I couldn't-"

"Hey-" Rachel grabbed her brother by his shoulders and forced him to look at her. "What about Jen?"

"When the guys dug me out, I couldn't see anybody," Ryan explained. "I wanted to go find her, but they dragged me out and I-"

"Hey-" Rachel pulled Ryan into a comforting hug. "She's going to be alright."

* * *

"Sam!" Wyatt pushed aside yet another fallen beam and that's when he saw it. A slender arm peeking out from beneath a pile of rubble. Wyatt ran towards it and started pulling the debris off the body. "Sam, it's me."

But when he uncovered the body, the young, blonde woman was not his daughter and she didn't have a pulse. Joni. Wyatt pulled her more out in the open, so that she would be found by the paramedics. "Rest in peace," he murmured, straightened up and continued his search just as more debris fell. "Sam!"

Wyatt looked up as he heard more creaking from above. "Sam, where are you?" he yelled, more frantically. "Answer me!"

* * *

Commissioner Jones finished giving orders to an officer and looked around to see what else could be done. Paramedics and firefighters were hurrying in and out of the lobby, police officers shouting orders to each other. Officer Griffen Taylor ran up to him after just coming out of the lobby again.

"Hey, we just pulled out two more bodies, a man and a woman," Griffen reported to the commissioner. Jake had just walked up behind them and had heard what Griffen had said.

"Alright, have H.Q. run the prints," Ray told the young officer. "I want I.D.S."

"I'm going back in," Griffen said, turning to go back to the hotel.

"No, you're not," Ray told him, sticking his arm out to stop Jake, who had started to follow the officer. "The last time you did that, you nearly got buried alive."

"Ray, I don't care," Griffen insisted.

"Wait a second," Ray called to the captain of the swat team. The captain stopped and looked at the commissioner. "Officer Taylor wants to go back inside."

"The place is red-tagged," the captain informed them. "Nobody's going in until the engineers tell us it won't crash around our ears." Jake stared after the captain as he walked away, a lump of fear settling deep within his stomach.

* * *

"How do you feel?" Darrell asked, stretching his legs out in front of him and leaning against the wall behind them.

"Relieved," Jen breathed, her hands on her belly. "I didn't want you to hate me."

"I don't think I could ever hate you," Darrell replied. They both stopped, though, when they a heard a noise come from above them. Darrell immediately jumped up and hurried toward the elevator door. "Hello? Can you hear us?" He started banging on the elevator doors.

"Hello!" Darrell yelled. "There's a pregnant woman trapped down here!"

Silence.

"It's so quiet," Jen spoke from where she still sat on the floor. "Is that good or bad?"

Darrell shrugged, "The cops knew you were in the lobby. If they're not searching for you, they will be soon." He went over to the call box and started punching buttons, hoping they would suddenly decide to work. They didn't.

* * *

Wyatt coughed from the smoke and dust as more and more debris kept falling. The entire lobby was becoming more and more unsafe the longer he stayed in. The rescue workers were hurrying their efforts to get out before another collapse happened. Wyatt was getting desperate. He stopped, putting his hands on his knees, trying to catch his breath.

"Oh, god. Louise, our little girl's in here somewhere," Wyatt whispered to nobody. "Help me find her." He straightened up and continued walking the path that he was sure he walked by about fifty times. "I got to find her. I got to find her. I've got to find her." he kept murmuring to himself.

More creaking came from above. Wyatt stopped to stare about ten feet in front of him. He thought he saw a small, pale hand underneath some rubble and dirt. Wyatt squinted hard and took two steps closer. "Sam?" He moved even closer. "Sam?" Now he was sure it was a hand. He quickened his pace and started digging. "Sam?"

Once he saw the familiar auburn hair of his daughter, Wyatt almost died in relief. He finished digging all the rubble off of her. "Oh, Sam!" Wyatt cradled his daughter to him. "Oh, sweetheart, daddy's here."

* * *

Matt watched as the nurse bustled around Soraya's hospital bed, prepping her for surgery. He leaned forward against the bed, knowing he only had a few more minutes with her before the nurse wheeled her off to the OR.

"You are so beautiful right now," Matt said out loud, not caring if the nurse overheard.

"Are you kidding me?" Soraya choked back a laugh. "This is not even my best look." Matt smiled and took her hand in his.

"When I thought I lost you, I was in complete panic," Matt replied, turning serious. "I had never felt so alone, so helpless in my life- I love you so much." Soraya wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him down for a kiss. When they pulled back, Soraya tried to stifle a yawn, but Matt saw her.

"You getting sleepy yet?" Matt teased her.

"No, I'm not sleepy yet," Soraya lied, and looked behind her husband when the nurse approached.

"Time to take you into surgery," the nurse told her, she turned to Matt. "I'm afraid you'll have to wait here."

Matt nodded and looked back at Soraya, "I'll be in recovery when you open your eyes." He gave her hand one last squeeze before stepping back and allowing the nurse to push Soraya out of the cubicle. _It's just followup surgery, nothing major. She's going to be fine. _Matt told himself.

* * *

Scott stood next to Lou on the operating table, tensely, watching as the doctor prepared to do an emergency c-section. In a few minutes, he would find out if his child was alive or dead. He looked down at Lou, knelt down to be at her level, and clasped her hand. She was heavily sedated, but awake and her eyes gave away the fear that she was feeling.

"All right, let's get started," Dr. Carson said to the OR team. "This baby doesn't have much time."

The minutes seemed to drag by as the doctor made the first incision. Scott tried focus on something other than what was happening on the other side of the curtain. The steady bleep of the machines seemed to intense in volume as the doctors worked.

"Here she is," Dr. Carson announced. That was when everything seemed to move in slow motion. One of the machines started to flatline, the monitor measuring the baby's vitals. "The baby's blood pressure is dropping, we need to get her out now!"

Both Lou and Scott exchanged scared looks, Lou clutched his hand even harder. A minute later, Dr. Carson was able to get the baby out. Seconds ticked by as both parents waited for the cry to tell them their baby was alive.

Silence.

* * *

Amy had come back to the observation room and was disappointed when she saw the surgeons still working on Ty. She tried to squash the thoughts that something had gone wrong and that was what was taking so long. Once in a while, one of the nurses would glance up at her and give her a smile. That would make Amy feel better, they were telling her that everything was going well.

Just as she thought that, Amy heard the machines loud bleeping from outside the OR. Suddenly, the room was chaotic as the doctors rushed to save Ty's life. Amy looked over at the machines and her heart sank, the machines were flat-lining.

"Ty, no!" Amy suddenly shouted, banging on the glass window. No one even glanced her way. Tears started streaming down Amy's face as she watched on, helpless to do anything. "You can't leave me!" At the last bang, one of the technicians came over and closed the blinds, preventing Amy from seeing into the room.

Amy choked on a sob as she stared at the closed window. Slowly, she turned around and slid down the wall, pulling her legs up to her chest. "Ty-" Amy cried. "I love you...please I need you." And then Amy fell apart in a fit of sobs.

* * *

"Last fall I asked you how you felt about sharing my life," Darrell said hesitantly. "Have- have you thought about it anymore?"

"A lot," Jen admitted.

"What did you decide?" Darrell asked her.

"I know that you would do everything you could to protect this baby," Jen answered. "And I know you still have school to finish up, plus the parts of your life that you can't share with me. But that doesn't- doesn't change how much I trust you."

"So you might be able to handle a life with me?" Darrell asked again. "Because I want- I want this child to have the best life that we could give it."

"Darrell, you're emotional right now," Jen said, blinking back the tears that were forming. "You haven't had time to think this through."

"How can I think about anything else?" Darrell moved until he was sitting directly in front of her and took both of her hands. "This baby changes everything. I told you I would marry you. I meant it. We can make this work. Just marry me."

* * *

Sirens wailed from the police cars and emergency vehicles as police officers and rescue workers still milled around the scene. Officer Griffen ran back up to the commissioner and a few other officers on the force.

"Hey, guys, almost everyone is accounted for," Griffen informed them all.

"But Sam is still in there." Jake protested.

"Yeah, what about Jen?" Ryan added, joining the group. Both guys regarded each other coolly, but didn't say anything to one another.

"Look, as soon as we get the okay from the engineers, we'll send in a search team with dogs," Griffen told them, reassuringly. "But at this point, I don't see how anyone in the lobby could still be alive."

* * *

Wyatt sat on the dirt-covered floor of the lobby, cradling his daughter to him, trying to get her to wake up. She was still alive, that much he knew, but she hadn't regained consciousness since he dug her out. Sam's head lulled to the side a little bit and she let out a small moan. Wyatt looked down at her small, frail body in his arms and saw blood trickling down her right leg.

"There's a lot of blood there, baby," Wyatt mused, moving his hand down to her thigh. He came away with more blood than he had first seen and it was coming out fast. "What- I got to get you out of here."

Wyatt stood up, picking Sam, who remained unconscious, up as carefully as he could, so not to jostle her leg. "Hang on- hang on, sweetheart. Hang on." He started hurrying across the lobby towards the exit, talking to his daughter the whole way, making sure she stayed with him.

"You're going to be okay. You'll be okay," Wyatt kept saying. "That's it, come on, baby. Daddy's got you. Daddy's got you."

* * *

**A/N:** Hello to all my faithful readers, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Hopefully, a lot of your questions were answered, but of course more questions were asked. As always, please review and tell me what you think.


	17. Survivors

**A/N:** Thank you to everybody who reviewed and supported this story, no matter how long I took updating it. It is sad to say that this story will be ending soon, but... Hold the tears. I will be writing a sequel. Now, let's get to the chapter.

* * *

**Chapter Sixteen**

**By: TheEquestrianWriter**

"Help!" Wyatt Forster burst free of the exploded hotel lobby and ran toward the police and medical personnel, his arms clutching his unconscious daughter. "I need help over here!" The on-site doctor, Dr. Monroe, instructed him to put Sam on a nearby gurney.

"Where did you find Sam?" Jake asked her father, when he came running up to him. He looked from him to Sam, lying pale and bloodied on the stretcher.

"She was under a bunch of rubble," Wyatt explained out of breath, and wiping sweat off his brow. "She's got glass in her leg. I think she lost a lot of blood."

"Get back so we can examine the patient," Dr. Monroe ordered the two of them, pushing them back, so that he could examine Sam better.

"Ok- you found Sam," Ryan said suddenly appearing by Jake's shoulder. "Now I'm going to find Jen."

"You can't go back in there," Detective Reynolds told Ryan, having overheard him, stopping his attempt to run inside. "The fire marshall's declared the structure unstable."

"Are you kidding me?" Ryan replied, incredulously. "My wife is in there."

"It's all right," Detective Reynolds said calmly. "We'll be sending the search dogs in there. Now, but at this point, there may not be any more survivors."

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0  
"Jen, I- I will give you a good life," Darrell was saying as he squeezed her hands tighter in his. "I'll take care of you and-"

"You know I can't marry you," Jen interrupted him, taking her hands from his and looking away from him.

"Why?" Darrell asked her.

Jen turned her head to look at him again, tears filling her eyes again, and spoke one word. "Ryan,"

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"Is she going to be okay?" Wyatt asked anxiously, looking over the doctor's shoulders. Jake was right there next to him, also looking nervous.

"We're giving her blood and fluids," Dr. Monroe informed them vaguely.

"That doesn't answer the question," Wyatt growled out his frustration.

The doctor stopped what he was doing and looked at Wyatt. "The glass that was embedded in her leg severed an artery," Dr. Monroe explained. "If you hadn't found her when you did, she might have bled to death. Now, she suffered sufficient muscle damage. But with time and physical therapy, she should make a full recovery."

Dr. Monroe turned as the other paramedics started loading the stretcher up into the ambulance. "I'll stay with her," Wyatt said, following the doctor.

"Me too," Jake replied.

"I'm sorry, there's only room for one of you in the ambulance," Dr. Monroe told them, before climbing up into the ambulance. Wyatt and Jake looked at each other, silently deciding on who would ride in the ambulance with Sam.

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"Jake?"

Jake looked down at sound of the frail voice calling his name. "I'm right here, right here," Jake soothed Sam, brushing some pieces of her auburn hair out of her face. Her eyes were half-closed and she still seemed to be a little out of it. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm alive," Sam rasped.

"We're on our way to the hospital," Jake told her, holding on to her hand. "Patch up your leg. You're going to be just fine, good as new."

Suddenly, the expression on Sam's face changed to that of a question. "The baby?" Jake looked up to see that the paramedics had paused in their tasks to stare at Sam and Jake. The air inside the ambulance tensed at this unexpected turn of events.

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Silence.

Lou looked up at her husband, who had the same anxious look on his face, as they waited for the cry that would tell them that their baby was alive. One of the doctors took the baby off to the side to try to revive her. Scott squeezed her hand and Lou saw his eyes start to mist over. Lou closed her eyes, wishing this wasn't happening.

Suddenly, a small cry pierced the silent room. Lou's eyes popped open and she saw the nurse walking over to them, carrying a tiny, wriggling bundle.

"It's a girl," the nurse told them, placing the baby into Lou's arms. Almost immediately, Lou cuddled the baby to her. She was tiny, too small for any newborn to be. At that moment, Lou knew that they weren't out of the danger zone, but for right now her new baby girl was alive and safe in her arms. She felt Scott kiss her forehead and Lou looked up to see him smiling down at them both.

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Amy sat in the waiting room of the hospital, where she's been since her father had found her collapsed outside the OR, staring at the floor. She could hear the drone of the reporter's voice on the television in the corner of the room, going over the hostage crisis and explosion. As if she needed a reporter to remind her what she's been through.

Her father was sitting next to her, rubbing her back soothingly. Helena was sitting on his other side watching Holly play with some of the toys that were in the room. Matt was sitting a few chairs down, head in his hands, waiting for Soraya to come out of surgery. Amy moved to sit next to him.

"Hey," Amy said, keeping her voice low. "Soraya'll be fine. I mean, it's just follow-up surgery, to get the bullet out. The worst is over."

Matt looked up at her. "I know," he whispered. "I know that. But with any surgery there's a risk—I can't help, but think that-"

"Hey, don't go there," Amy stopped him. "Soraya needs you to be strong for her."

Matt nodded slowly and Amy pulled him into an embrace. They pulled apart when they heard the creaking of the door opening, both hoping it was the doctor to tell them about their loved ones. It was Scott instead.

"Daddy!" Holly squealed, running up to him. Scott scooped her up into his arms. "Is mommy ok?"

Scott looked at everybody in the room when he answered. "Mommy's going to be fine, so will you're baby sister," Everybody seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, but Amy had a hard time feeling happy when she had no idea whether Ty was alive or dead.

"Yay, I got a whittle sister!" Holly squealed, squirming down from her father's arms.

"She's in the NICU right now," Scott explained, taking a seat across from Tim. "In terms of development, she's where she should be, except- she's so small, the doctor is worried that she hasn't gotten the proper nutrients. They're going to start her on a feeding schedule, but if she doesn't gain weight soon, there's a chance she might-" Scott broke off, covering his face with his hand.

At that moment, the door opened again, but this time Dr. Erik Parker walked into the room. Amy's heart dropped when she saw him, almost dreading what he was about to say. But at the same time, Amy wanted to get this over with so that she could go see Ty.

"How's Ty?" Amy blurted out before any formalities could be done.

Erik looked at her. "The surgery was touch and go, but for the most part it was a success," he explained. "We were able to get him stabilized, as it is he's still unconscious and he will remain in critical condition until he wakes up."

"Can-can I see him?" Amy asked, hesitantly.

Erik nodded. Amy stood up to follow the doctor out, when Tim placed a hand on her arm stopping her. "Would you like me to come with you, Amy?" her father asked her.

Amy shook her head and said, "No, I would like some time alone with him."

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"You don't want to hurt Ryan, I get that," Darrell said, putting his hands on Jen's knees. "But we have created this life." He put a hand on her belly. "And- I mean, we have the privilege of loving this baby and giving it the best that we can offer."

Jen pushed his hands away and stood up, hating the fact that he had to help her. She crossed to the other side of the elevator, keeping her back to him. This is what she's been waiting for, so why was she hesitating. She could hear Darrell sigh from where he was still sitting.

"I'm just saying it would be selfish of me to put my happiness ahead of this child," Darrell continued. Jen heard him get up and walk up behind her. "And I'm not- I'm not going to do it."

Jen turned around to face him. "You assume this child would be better off if we were married." she said.

"Do you think I'm wrong?" Darrell questioned her.

"No, I do want to marry you," Jen started, unsure of what to say. "Ryan still thinks this is his child, I know I have to tell him- and I will. But in my own way. Please will you let me do this the way I want to. Please."

"-we made a child," Darrell began.

"And I will always be grateful for that," Jen insisted. "But for right now, I need some time."

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"Page Dr. Carson, we need an ultrasound now!" Dr. Parker barked orders as soon as he wheeled Sam's stretcher through the emergency room doors. Sam had either fallen asleep or unconscious, Jake didn't know, just as they arrived at the hospital. Jake was pushed back away from the stretcher as the doctor and nurses swarmed the stretcher.

"What's going on? How is she?" Wyatt bombarded Jake with questions as soon as he ran up to him. He looked over at the group around Sam, and feared that the worse had happened.

"They're going to do an ultrasound," Jake answered, weakly, his eyes not leaving Sam.

"An ultrasound? For what?" Wyatt asked, his brow knitted in confusion.

Jake tore his eyes from Sam to look at her father. "Sam's pregnant,"

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"Hey!" Rachel called to her brother, trying to be heard over the whirling sirens from the ambulances as one rushed off to the hospital and another came in. She finally reached him and grabbed his arm. "It's only been a couple of hours. I'm sure there's going to be more survivors."

Ryan didn't look at his sister, his arms folded across his chest as he stared at the hotel. "If Jen is still in there, why hasn't she come out yet?"

"I—I don't know," Rachel admitted. "Maybe she's trapped or something. She's got to be under some debris."

"What are the odds that a woman eight months pregnant could survive a blast like that?" Ryan exclaimed, throwing his arms out and spinning around to face his sister. "I mean, even if Jen did, I don't see how that baby could."

"Look, I know you are really worried about your baby, and it's really hard for you to stand out here and wait," Rachel took Ryan by his arms, forcing him to look at her. "But we have to keep up hope, ok? That's all we have."

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"Any idea what happens next?" Darrell asked, moving a piece of blonde hair behind her ear. Jen closed her eyes, the slight brush of his fingers against her cheek sending shivers down her spine.

"None," she breathed as Darrell closed the distance between them.

"You know, I was guarding you and Hazel for a while," Darrell told her. "And you guys didn't know it."

"Oh, god, I hope I didn't say anything too embarrassing," Jen laughed a little.

"You mostly talked about the baby," Darrell assured her, smiling. He leaned in close to her, his hand sliding to the back of her neck. Jen's heartbeat quickened as their mouths were within inches of each others. A part of her knew she shouldn't, that she was married and she cared for Ryan, but the other part of her wanted to take this chance, she wanted to kiss Darrell.

The answer was made for her when they heard a noise from above them, and they jerked apart. They both looked up and then at each other, with hopeful expressions on their faces. "Hello? Can you hear us?" Darrell yelled up, hoping someone could hear them. "There's a pregnant woman trapped down here!"

A few agonizing seconds went by until they heard a voice. "We hear you!" a man yelled back down to them. Both Jen and Darrell looked at each other in relief.

"Ok, we're in an elevator," Darrell explained to the man. "I think we're in the basement. Um- the doors and the overhead hatch are jammed."

"Is the woman injured?" the man asked.

"No, I'm okay," Jen answered for herself.

"No, we're not hurt," Darrell elaborated. "But you're going to have to be careful getting her out. She's eight months pregnant."

"Can we get your names?" the man asked again.

"Darrell and Jennifer Ken—Slocum," Darrell answered looking down at Jen.

"Can you please tell Ryan Slocum that I'm okay?" Jen added.

"We'll take care of it," the man said. There was a pause and then he started again. "Okay, listen, there's a lot of debris on top of this car. Sit tight while we get some equipment in here."

They heard retreating footsteps and Jen flung her arms around Darrell, who hugged her back. "We made it!" she exclaimed. "We're going to be okay!"

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Amy put her hand on the door handle, pausing to take a deep breath. She wasn't sure if she was ready to see what was on the other side of the door. _The doctor said he was fine, _Amy told herself. _Just go in. _Exhaling a long breath, Amy opened the door.

Ty lay motionless on the crisp, white sheets of the hospital bed, his chest bare with the exception of the bandage around his middle. Amy walked forward slowly, her hand trailing along the edge of the bed. She pulled up a chair next to the bed and sat down.

"Ty?" Amy whispered, placing her hand on top his. It was slightly cool and some of his coloring had come back. Amy breathed a sigh of relief, it had to be a good sign. "Ty, I'm here. Please can you open your eyes?"

A few seconds after she spoke, Amy felt Ty's fingers twitch against hers. Amy looked at their clasped hands and then back at Ty. "I'm right here, Ty," Amy repeated, scooting to the edge of her seat. "Just open your eyes, that's all. I just let me know you're ok."

Ty's eyes fluttered a few times, and then his brilliant green eyes were staring back at her. "Amy..." his voice came out as a dry rasp and Amy handed him the cup of water that was on the nearby table. He took a few sips and then handed it back to Amy, who placed it back on the table.

"Ty, I'm so glad you're ok!" Amy wrapped her arms around him and kissed him. He responded instantly to her, as they got reacquainted with each other. At last, they pulled back, their hands entwining. "I was so scared."

"It's over now," Ty told her, his voice was still hoarse, but it was stronger than before. "We're together now." Amy gave him a smile and lied down next to him on the bed, being careful not hurt him further. Ty put his arm around and kissed her temple as she cuddled against his side, content to just lay there in his arms forever.

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"She could fit in my doll clothes!" Holly commented as she and Scott looked through the windows of the NICU at her new baby sister. Children weren't allowed inside, so Scott was able point out where the baby was through the window. "Why is she in a fish tank?"

Scott looked at his little girl in his arms. "Because the doctors have to take care of her," he put it simply for her.

"Is she sick?" Holly asked, looking at her father.

"Not, really, no," Scott answered, unsure how to answer. "You know how you eat good stuff to make you big?" Holly nodded. "That's what the doctors are going to try to do for your sister, so that she can get bigger and stronger."

"What's her name?" Holly asked.

"Georgia Ann," Scott answered his daughter. "You ready to go see mommy now?" Holly nodded, enthusiastically. Scott smiled and put her down so that she could walk. They had just started walking down the hall when there was a clatter of noise as a nurse stacked bottles of medicine and other supplies onto a cart. Scott didn't take any notice of it until he heard the scream.

"NO!" Holly cried, her hands went up to cover her ears, her eyes squeezed shut. Scott turned to look at her, she was rocking back and forth, whimpering. "No...no...guns..." Scott moved to pull her into his arms, but as soon as he touched her Holly screamed again and pushed away from him. The four year old ran toward the closest wall and collapsed onto the floor, huddled into the wall.

_She's witnessed something no kid should ever have to see, _Scott thought as he stared at his daughter. His heart broke as he watched his daughter collapsed on the floor, hysterical. _I don't know how she's going to get through this._

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Ryan paced the area right behind the police barricade, his eyes never leaving the hotel. Rachel stood nearby watching her brother anxiously. Ryan stopped when Officer Griffen Taylor walked up to him. "Hey, the firefighters spoke with Jennifer," Griffen told him. "She was trapped in an elevator car with a guy named Darrell. He said they're both doing ok."

Ryan breathed a sigh of relief and then started forward. "Can I go in?"

Griffen grabbed Ryan's arm, stopping him. "No, no, no. It's still too dangerous," he said. "As soon as I have some information, I'll let you know, ok?"

Ryan hesitated and then replied, "Thank you,"

"No problem," Griffen looked behind Ryan to see a reporter approaching Hazel. He excused himself and walked over to Hazel and the reporter.

"You're the woman who climbed out of the hotel and warned the police," the reporter was saying when Griffen walked up.

"Yeah, this is Hazel Wells," Griffen said, putting a hand on the small of her back and smiling down at her, who glanced at him. "She's the reason we were able to storm the hotel in time to save the hostages."

"I don't want to do this," Hazel shook her head, backing up a step.

"It's going to come out sooner or later, Hazel," Griffen told her. "You saved a lot of lives. You're a hero." Griffen gave her a kiss on the cheek before walking away, leaving her with the reporter. She watched him go, and then finally turned to the reporter, who had started talking into the camera.

"I'm here with Hazel Wells, the courageous hostage who made a daring escape and warned police of the impending explosion," the reporter turned to Hazel. "Hazel, you saved many people's lives today. Tell us what happened."

"Um—well, I—I work in the hotel and I knew that there was an access to a ledge on the second floor," Hazel explained as best as she could. "And—um—look, I was just trying to help. I am not a hero. I just happened to be in the right place—at the right time."

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"I didn't realize how scared I was," Jen confessed, leaning against the wall of the elevator as they awaited the rescuers to dig them out. "I'm going to be so glad just to go home."

"Yeah," Darrell agreed, moving to stand next to her. "Listen, it's going to take a while to dig us out."

"Are you okay?" Jen asked, looking at him.

"What's going to happen to our child?" Darrell asked her, getting straight to the point. "You say you're going to tell Ryan the truth as soon as we're out of here, but—what if he doesn't want to give the baby up? What then?"

Jen looked down at the floor. "I would never shut you out of this child's life," she said in a low voice, but then looked back up at Darrell. "But Ryan loves this baby so much and it's not even here yet. It's going to break his heart if I tell him he's not the father now, especially after what just happened. I just can't tell him just yet."

"You think Ryan will be hurt less if we wait?" Darrell questioned her, running a hand through his hair.

"Ryan went through hell in the past few hours, not knowing if we were alive or dead," Jen defended herself. "I can't just walk up to him, after being held at gunpoint for 12 hours, and tell him he's not the father of this baby. I'll go home with him tonight and I'll figure out everything else later."

"I know, but the lies are just going to make everything worse, but-" Darrell started to tell her.

"I'm not doing this to protect myself, ok?" Jen interrupted him. "If he hates me and he never wants to see me again, I'll understand."

"What's it matter whether you—you tell him now or in two weeks? I-" Darrell questioned her again

Jen took a deep breath and and said, "Well, hopefully by then, everything will have calmed down and maybe then he'll be able to accept this and move on."

Darrell hesitated, swallowing down a lump of fear, and looked Jen in the eyes. "If—if Ryan loves you, it won't matter that the baby's mine."

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Wyatt paced outside Sam's cubicle in the emergency room, his mind going over everything that had happened in the past few hours. He stopped, staring at the closed curtain, arms folded over his chest, he heard Brynna get up from where she was sitting and come stand next to him.

"You know, my daughter turned out to be an amazing, smart, gutsy young woman," Wyatt mused aloud. "No thanks to me—first chance I got, I put her on a plane to San Francisco."

Brynna put a hand on her husband's arm. "You know, it wasn't like that. She had just been kicked in the head by a horse, the doctors thought it was best for her to be near a hospital," she reminded him and Wyatt nodded. "Besides—she's her father's daughter."

"She has her mother's beauty and heart," Wyatt said.

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A blinding, white light threatened to burn her eyes out when Sam opened them. She didn't know where she was, she could only see outlines of shapes. Sam let out a small groan and squeezed her eyes shut again. It was then that she heard a familiar voice and felt somebody squeeze her hand.

"Sam?"

The next time Sam opened her eyes, her vision was clearer, though the lights were still a little too bright. She was in a very small hospital cubicle, with machines beeping on either side of her and Jake. He was sitting next to her bed, and she could almost forget everything they had been through until she saw Jake's left arm encased in a sling.

"Hey, I thought I told you no more almost dying acts," Jake managed to tease her, but she heard the relief in his voice and she knew that he had been worried about her. Sam started to smile at him when a sharp pain erupted from her abdomen.

Sam's hand flew to her stomach and she looked at Jake. "The baby?" In the silence that followed Sam's heart sped up, fear clawing at her. Jake had put his head down so that she wouldn't see his face and Sam was afraid to see what was on it. "Jake, the baby's okay right?" her voice came out louder than she meant it to.

Finally, Jake picked his head up to look at her and his eyes were moist with tears, and she could see a tear getting ready to slide down his cheek. Jake never cried. Sam started shaking her head before he could even say anything. "The baby's gone, Sam," he managed to get out before his voice broke.

Still shaking her head, Sam started to cry. "No!" she cried. "You're lying! My baby is not dead!" Jake grabbed her arms when she started flailing and pulled her to him. Sam fought him, hitting him, trying to get away from him. If it wasn't for the cast on her right leg she would've been out of the bed. "My baby is not dead!" Sam kept repeating as if it would make it true.

Suddenly, a doctor and a nurse burst through the curtains running to Sam's bedside. The nurse gently asked Jake to step aside as the doctor worked to restrain Sam. Jake stepped back quietly as the nurse held Sam down and the doctor injected her with a needle. Soon, Sam's screams turned into quiet whimpers as the drug took its effect on her, her breathing slowed as she fell asleep.

Jake, however, slid down to the floor, burying his head in his hands. He let the tears he'd been fighting back come. He cried for his dead brother, for Sam, most importantly for the baby that would never get the chance at life. His baby.

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"Did you get it?" the voice asked into the darkness when Flick entered yet another dark alley. He carried with him the briefcase and when the other man emerged from the shadows, he stood his ground. "I was getting worried this plan would fall through."

"Not at all," Flick said, placing the briefcase on a nearby dumpster and started punching in the code. "Everything's at the ready. Especially, now that little Samantha is out of the picture."

The other man came up behind Flick as he opened the briefcase. He smiled when he saw the contents and turned to Flick. "The phantom is mine,"

"This is supposed to be Ryan's baby," Jen said as she and Darrell awaited to be rescued. "Ryan is not going to feel the same once he knows you're the father."

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"I don't know what to say," Darrell replied, honestly, shrugging his shoulders. "It's—it's his loss. I-"

"I watched him build a life around a child that doesn't exist," Jen interrupted him, moving to stand in front of him. "I can't take it away from him all at once. I just need a little time."

"I know, Jen, but-"

"And if I can just-"

"Why—why are you so frustrated?" Darrell asked her.

"Because someone I love is going to get hurt because I've handled everything wrong," Jen answered. "And yes, I realize I am being a hypocrite. Because you're the one who's been lied to, and I'm the one that's getting upset."

Darrell put his hands on her shoulders, slid them down her arms and then taking her hands in his. "I need you to promise me that we're going to trust each other." he said. "That you're going to do whatever you feel is right for our—our child."

"What?" Jen replied in disbelief. "You continue to trust me when I've been so unfair to you?"

"Just promise me," Darrell repeated.

"I promise you," Jen told him. "I promise to trust you, and—and to do what's best for this baby."

Suddenly, a firefighter's voice called down to them, they both looked up. "You okay down there?"

"Yeah, we're fine," Darrell answered for both of them.

"Ok, we got the hatch cleared, but the debris in the elevator shaft is pretty unstable," the firefighter explained. "So we got to get you out fast."

"Ok, you're going to take Jen first," Darrell called back.

"All right," the firefighter said. "We'll send down a harness."

Darrell looked down at Jen and squeezed one of her hands. "It's time to go," he told her. Briefly, he touched his hand to her rounded belly, looking her in the eyes. "We're going to make it through this."

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"I was so scared," Amy confessed as she lay with Ty in the hospital bed, her head resting next to his on the pillow, her hand on his chest. "I don't know what I'd do if you had-"

"Hey, hey," Ty soothed her. "I'm all right. A little banged up, but I'm okay." He gave her a soft kiss on the lips before they heard the door squeak open and Dr. Erik Parker walked in. Amy immediately sat up and moved to the chair beside the bed.

"I didn't mean to interrupt," Dr. Parker smiled at them. "I just wanted to see how you were doing?"

"My stomach feels tight, but I don't really feel any pain," Ty answered the doctor truthfully. Erik scribbled stuff down on the chart he was holding, nodding at Ty.

"To be expected," Erik explained. "As the painkillers wear off, you'll feel a little more, but the pain shouldn't be intense."

"When can he be released?" Amy asked the doctor, taking Ty's hand.

"I would like to keep him here for a few days, just to make sure there's no aftereffects from the surgery or infection," Erik answered. "But if all goes well, you should be good as new in a few weeks." They both thanked him as he left, leaving them alone again.

"Now, where were we?" Ty asked, pulling her to him again. Their lips met in a soft kiss until Amy pulled back.

"Maybe we should take it easy," Amy told him. "You just had surgery, you shouldn't push yourself to hard."

"Believe me, I'm not," Ty said, pulling her to him again. After some resisting, Amy finally gave in and kissed him passionately on the lips. The kiss was full of love and passion, and the joy of knowing that everything was going to be okay.

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When Jen stumbled from the lobby with the help from a firefighter the first thing she saw was her husband running up to her and the next she knew she was in his arms and she was hugging him back. "You don't know how long I've been waiting for you," Ryan whispered, holding on to her tight. He pulled back slightly to look at her. "How are you feeling?"

"Um—the baby's been kicking hard," Jen answered, fighting the urge to looking behind her to see if Darrell had made it out yet. "I just need to make sure it's ok."

"Okay, we'll get you checked out," Ryan told her, leading her to the triage area. When they got there, Ryan called for a doctor and Jen was told sit up on a gurney.

"So where's Darrell?" Ryan asked casually as the doctor checked over Jen and the baby.

Jen was startled by the question. "Uh—I mean, he's—he's coming there was—the debris was shifting, so he—he asked that they get me out first." she stammered. "The elevator car—it's in the basement, so they have to be really careful getting him out."

"The elevator fell when the lobby exploded?" Ryan questioned in disbelief. "Wait, and you're not hurt?"

There was silence as the doctor finished up and Jen was given the okay. Finally, she said. "He shielded me," she picked her head up to look at her husband. "I was so confused when all the shooting started. If he hadn't grabbed me and pulled me into the elevator, I don't think I would have lived through this."

Ryan pulled her into another hug and Jen let him. Over his shoulder, Jen saw Darrell emerge from the lobby. He looked around as if searching for something and he found it. Their eyes met and held each other, communicating silently to one another. At that moment, Ryan tightened his arms around her and Jen had no idea what was going to happen next.

* * *

**A/N:** What do you think? Up next is the epilogue and then I'll be writing two sequels to this story, a Heartland and a Phantom Stallion one, both will be separate. So, please tell me what you think in a review!


	18. Epilogue

**A/N: **I would like to thank all the readers/reviewers who stuck with this story from the beginning, no matter how long it took for me to update. I've enjoyed reading your comments, and they always encouraged me to write better and faster. So, here it is. The final chapter of Unexpected Events.

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**Epilogue**

Amy stood next to the empty hospital bed, her hands brushing over the crisp, white sheets. They were cold now as if there was never anybody lying in them recently. Amy shook her, dismissing those thoughts. _Ty's fine,_ she told herself. _He's just getting some tests done. _She played with the ring on her finger, smiling at the memory of Ty's creaking of the door opening startled Amy out of her thoughts. She looked up hoping that it was Ty. It wasn't.

"Hey, dad," Amy said as her father came all the way into the hospital room.

"Where's Ty?" Tim asked.

"He's having some post-op tests done," Amy answered, sitting down on the bed. "I have to keep reminding myself that he'll be right back, but I can't get the image of him after the explosion with the wood sticking out of him. His pulse was so weak and there was so much blood, and-" Tim sat down beside her, wrapping his arms around her. But Amy refused to let anymore tears come, she gently pulled away from him.

"I just want things to get back to normal," Amy continued. "I want to go home, help the horses who need me, and...get married. I want to marry Ty."

"And I'm going to make sure that happens," Tim assured his daughter. "I want you to have everything that you deserve. And Amy, you deserve to be happy."

"Thanks, dad," Amy said and gave her father a hug. The door started to open again and Amy looked over her father shoulder to see who it was. A nurse in pink scrubs wheeled in Ty, laughing at something he was saying. "Ty!" She rushed over to him. "Is everything ok?"

The nurse nodded, "No infections, and the damage seems to be healing well," After she helped Ty back into the bed, she left the room. Amy sat down on the edge of the bed, taking Ty's hand in her own. Tim stood awkwardly at the foot of the bed.

"Good to see you're alright," Tim said. "I was just telling Amy that I'm going to make sure you two get the wedding you deserve. Anything you want, it's on me."

"Dad, we couldn't-" Amy started to protest, looking down at Ty, who had the same look of disbelief on his face that she felt.

"I'm not asking," Tim told them, sternly. "I want to do this. You two deserve a spectacular wedding after everything you just went through and I'm going to make sure you get it."

"Thank you, Tim," Ty said.

"Hey, we're family now, you can call me dad," Tim replied and after seeing the look on his daughter's face he continued. "I'll leave you two alone now." He gave Amy a kiss on the cheek and headed out of the room. When the door clicked shut behind him, Amy turned to Ty.

"Alone at last," she smiled at him. "How are you feeling?"

"The same," Ty answered, tugging on Amy's arm until she leaned against the pillows with him. He put his arm around her. "I just want to get out of here."

"Did the doctor tell you when you could be released?" Amy asked him, leaning up on her elbow.

Ty nodded, "Sometime tomorrow,"

"That soon?" Amy questioned, surprised at his answer.

Ty nodded again. "They don't see any reason to keep me here, when I'm healing as expected. And who am I to question them." He pulled her close and pressed his lips to hers. The kiss started off slow and sensual, but it quickly turned heated, until Amy pulled back

"I don't want to hurt you," she whispered, slightly out of breath.

"Then don't stop," Ty said, leaning in to capture another kiss, but Amy, once again, stopped it. Ty let out a small groan as he laid his head back against the pillows.

"We have to talk about how things are going to be when we get back to Heartland," Amy told him. "You know, with you not being able to work, things are going to be hectic and-"

"Whoa, who said I'm not working," Ty interrupted her, but stopped when Amy gave him a look. "Ok, but we've been through tougher things. Everything will be fine."

"I hope so," Amy said, unconvinced.

"Hey," Ty whispered, tilting her chin up with his finger so that she was looking at him. Her eyes shown with the fear and relief of the past several hours. Ty pulled her to him. Amy let him, moving slowly so not to hurt him. She lay her head on his shoulder, holding on to him tightly. "We're going home...together."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Jen walked into the two-story ranch house that she shared with Ryan. It had been built in place of the giant mansion Linc Slocum had lived in before he had been arrested and the former Gold Dust ranch was turned into Harmony ranch. She walked over to the sofa and collapsed onto it.

"I could use a hot bath, but I'm too tired to do anything that's not sleep," Jen said leaning her head against the back of the sofa. She stayed like that for a few minutes until she realized Ryan still hovered near the entrance to the living room. She looked up at him, his expression was unreadable. "What's the matter?"

Ryan hesitated for a moment and then came over to sit beside her. "I'm so sorry, Jen," he said.

Jen's brow knitted in confusion and she asked, "Sorry for what? Why are you apologizing to me?" _I __should be the one apologizing, _Jen wanted to tell him. _You've been nothing but wonderful to me and never asked for anything in return. What do I do? I cheat on you and let you think this baby is yours when its not. _Jen turned away so that Ryan couldn't see the tears that she was fighting back.

"I knew she was here," Ryan continued. "She came to me, asking for a place to stay. She practically begged me not to tell anyone she was here."

"Wait. Who's here?" Jen stopped him, turning to face him. All traces of tears gone.

"Rachel," Ryan said matter-of-factly. "She's been staying in the barn loft."

Jen snorted, "I would've loved to see that,"

"She was having these secret meetings when no one else was around," Ryan continued. "I knew she was planning something, but she wouldn't tell me anything. Everyday she got more and more nervous and I could tell she wanted to tell me, but couldn't. The day before all this happened, she left suddenly. She didn't leave a note or anything. She didn't even answer her phone when I tried calling her."

"You think Flick taking the hotel hostage is your fault?" Jen asked, trying to take in everything that Ryan had just said. He hung his head, his hands entwined in his hair. "Ryan, there is no way you could have known what was going to happen. Rachel chose to take part in it, she wasn't forced to do anything."

"But she was here. On my ranch. I could've-"

"Ryan, no," Jen interrupted him. "Rachel made her decision. She's going to have to live with it. You are a much better person than she will ever be. You're honest, hardworking, a good man. I would be a fool to lose you."

Ryan looked up at her then, tears shining in his eyes. "I don't know what I would do if I lost you," Ryan said his voice low. He put his hand on her belly and looked at her. "You two mean the world to me. I love you both so much."

Jen tried to swallow past the sudden lump in her throat as her heart beat loudly in her ears. "I love you too," was all she could manage to say. Her mind was screaming at her to tell him the truth about the baby, but her mouth wouldn't form the words. Then she was in Ryan's arms, her face in his shoulder.

Telling Ryan that this baby wasn't his would destroy him. But she knew Darrell would never allow someone else to raise his own child. Though before she could say anything, Ryan pulled back.

"I'll go get that bath ready for you," Ryan smiled at her and placed a kiss on her forehead. He got up and walked out of the room. A moment later, Jen heard his shoes on the steps as he went upstairs.

Just like that her decision was made for her; she would not tell Ryan the truth tonight.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The beeping machines was the only sound that filled the NICU as Lou Fleming-Trewin watched her newborn daughter sleep in the incubator for premature babies. The tiny newborn lay unmoving with the only exception being her small chest rising and falling with each breath, assuring Lou that her daughter was alive.

Lou slipped her hand through one of the holes in the incubator. She let her finger slide down the baby's cheek and through her fuzz of hair. Lou half-smiled when little Georgia lightly grasped her finger when she brought her hand to the baby's.

Movement through the glass window made Lou look up and see her husband, Scott, who was holding their other daughter, Holly. He gestured for her to come out in the hallway.

"Mommy will be right back," she whispered to the baby. She withdrew her hand and got up from her seat. "What did the psychiatrist say?" Lou asked when she approached Scott.

Scott adjusted his hold on Holly and said, "Well, she couldn't diagnose anything without talking to Holly in a formal setting, but she thinks it could be post-traumatic stress disorder." Scott paused and Lou put her hand on her daughter's back to let her know that her mother was here. Holly tensed up and gripped her father harder. Lou withdrew her hand and Scott continued. "She recommended a child psychologist back home. The sooner Holly is in a place she recognizes and feels safe the better she'll be."

"The doctor wants to keep Georgia here for at least a week, help her gain some weight," Lou told Scott. They both shared a look, not liking the only option they had. Lou spoke up first. "You'll take Holly home with the rest of the family and I'll stay until Georgia is released."

"I really don't like this idea of leaving you here by yourself," Scott sighed. "But we don't have any other options, so alright."

Lou wrapped her arms around her husband, unable to get as close to him as she wanted with Holly in between them. "Hey, it's only a week," Lou told him. "And then we'll be a family again. All four of us, together."

"You are amazingly optimistic, you know that?" Scott said, moving Holly so that he could bring his wife closer to him.

"I just know what I want," Lou replied, leaning in to kiss him. Scott met her halfway and their lips met in a sweet and sensual kiss. When they broke apart, Holly was looking at them both. "Everything's going to be okay," her mother soothed. Holly didn't say anything. She only buried her face into her father's shoulder again. Lou and Scott stared at each other as soft, low sobs erupted from their little girl.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"You'll still feel some pain for a few days, so I suggest you take it easy for awhile," Dr. Erik Parker explained to Soraya, who had just woken up after her surgery. "It should only be mild, if it gets too intense, please come back to the hospital. I'll write you a referral for your doctor in Virginia to get your stitches out in 3 to 4 weeks."

"Sounds good," Soraya said, smiling at Matt who sat beside her holding her hand.

"Any questions?" Dr. Erik Parker asked.

Soraya shook her head.

"Okay, I'll see you tomorrow for you last checkup before you leave," Erik said as he picked up his chart and left the room.

"I cannot wait to get out of here," Soraya commented, stretching out her arms and legs the best she could, wincing only slightly when her stomach contracted in pain.

"Are sure about that?" Matt teased. "Compared to my cooking, the hospital food is a delicacy."

"Oh, come on, your cooking isn't that bad," Soraya laughed. At the look on Matt's face, she erupted in more laughter. After she was finished, Matt leaned in close to her.

"I'm really glad you didn't die in that lobby," Matt admitted.

"Me too," Soraya said, wiping the tears from her eyes as Matt gave her a sweet kiss on the lips.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"If we just had a few more minutes, I would've jumped Flick before he knew what happened," Quinn was saying from where he sat at the foot of Sam's hospital bed.

"No, you wouldn't have," Nate contradicted his brother. "You were shaking like a leaf. There's no way you would've been able to pull it off."

"I think you have me confused with yourself," Quinn shot back. "You were shaking so bad, everything around you was rattling."

Sam halfheartedly smiled at the brothers' banter. She looked over at Jake, who stood by the window, looking out at the afternoon sky. As if he felt her watching him, knowing Jake he probably did, he turned and gave her a half-smile, not his usual lazy tomcat grin, but it made her feel a little better nonetheless.

"Okay, I think we bothered Sam long enough," Maxine Ely suddenly said, breaking Sam's eye contact with Jake. "We should let her get some rest."

"Oh, but I was getting ready to tell Sam all about how my heroic actions got me this," Nate protested, holding up his bandaged wrist.

"She doesn't want to hear about that," Quinn told his brother. "She wants to know how I saved a beautiful young woman trapped underneath a fallen beam. Right, Sam?"

Sam couldn't help but laugh when Maxine came over and grabbed her two sons by the arms and started pulling them to the door. Both boys were a good foot taller than her, not to mention well-muscled, but Maxine was still able to pull them around like little kids. That made Sam laugh harder.

"You did not," Nate was saying as he was being ushered out the door. "A girl would rather die than have you touch her."

"I did too and did I mention she was beautiful," Quinn argued as Maxine pushed him out the door. "Bye Sam! See ya tomorrow!"

When the door closed, Sam heard Quinn's muffled voice. "How come Jake doesn't have to leave?" Sam couldn't hear a reply because it sounded like they were moving off down the hallway.

"How are you feeling?" Sam jumped at how close Jake sounded. She didn't even hear him approach.

"Besides feeling like my leg is inside a cement block, I barely feel a thing," Sam answered, touching her left leg gently. "It's probably all the painkillers they have me on."

"I wasn't talking about that," Jake said quietly.

Sam ducked her head so that he couldn't see the tears forming in her eyes. She sniffed loudly and put a hand to her face. "Why did this have to happen?"

"Sam-" Jake started to put a hand on her shoulder, but he stopped when they heard a soft knock on the door. Wyatt Forster poked his head in the room.

"I just wanted to see how you're feeling," Wyatt said, coming into the room, hands in his pockets.

Sam quickly brushed a hand across her eyes. "I'm okay," Sam replied, taking a deep breath. "Relieved to be out of that hotel."

"You really had me scared, Sam," Wyatt admitted to his daughter. He bent and pulled her into a hug. Sam sighed, gratefully, and returned her father's hug, resting her chin on his shoulder.

"I'm glad you found me," Sam murmured into his shirt. Her gaze caught Jake's, who shifted uncomfortably. Finally, father and daughter pulled apart.

Wyatt nodded at Jake. "How's the shoulder?"

Jake touched his right arm that was in a sling, briefly. "Fine," He glanced at Sam, who was trying to her hardest not to breakdown in front of her father. Jake moved closer to her.

"I don't want to keep you up. You need your rest," Wyatt said, giving Jake a suspicious look. "I just wanted to see you."

"Thanks for coming, daddy," Sam replied, feeling like a little kid again. All she wanted was for her daddy to hold her and tell her everything was going to be okay. Wyatt gave Sam another hug and turned to Jake.

"Take care of her," he told the young man. Jake nodded and watched him leave the room. When he turned back to Sam, she had sank lower in the bed. Jake walked over and sat on the edge of the bed.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Jake asked softly.

Sam shook her head. "It doesn't matter now. It was stupid," Sam answered. "We weren't speaking..." she trailed off, shrugging.

"I still had a right to know," Jake whispered almost inaudibly, but Sam still heard him.

"Well, it doesn't matter now, does it?" Sam said, playing with her hands. "The baby's gone. And it's my fault."

"Sam, it is not your fault," Jake told her firmly.

"Yes, it is!" Sam almost shouted, tears brimming her eyes. "I was supposed to protect her and I didn't! I shut you out of knowing you were going to be a father all because of some petty fight. She's gone because of me!" Tears streaming down her face, Sam turned on her side away from Jake. The next time he heard her voice, it was barely above a whisper. "You should hate me." Her small, frail body was shaking from her sobs.

Jake didn't know what to say, instead he crawled onto the bed behind Sam, wrapping his good arm around her. "I don't hate you," Jake whispered, his warm breath on her ear. "You don't deserve this." He stroked her hair, and kissed the spot by her ear. They lied like that for awhile. Jake just holding her while she cried. After a while, Jake remembered something Sam had said.

"She?" he asked when she was quiet.

Sam tensed and then turned in his arms as best as she could. She was caught off-guard when she saw that Jake's face was wet. He'd been crying. Sam reached up to touch his face. Jake brought his hand to hers, bringing their hands down to the space between them on the pillow, their fingers twining together.

"I had a dream when I was unconscious," Sam breathed, almost choking on a sob, but no tears came. "I saw her, Jake. She was beautiful and she was ours. She told me not to be scared, that everything would be alright."

Sam buried her face in Jake's chest, clutching his shirt. "How can everything be alright when our little girl is dead!" Jake didn't know what to say. He just held onto her and kissed the top of her head. Jake didn't know how Sam was going to get through this, how he was going through this. Because there is no pain greater than the pain of losing a child.

* * *

**A/N:** As I said before, thank you to all my reviewers! I hope you've enjoyed this story as much as I enjoyed writing it. I know a lot of you don't want this story to end, but don't worry I'm planning on writing two sequels. Why two? Because one will be Heartland; Moving Forward and one will be Phantom Stallion; Looking Towards the Future. Hopefully, they will be up soon. As always, please review and tell me what you think.


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